


Heat Rash

by changbinsoracles (stardewpages)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Gen, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Horror, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lee Felix is a Ghost hunter, Spooky, Thriller, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 31,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25394152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardewpages/pseuds/changbinsoracles
Summary: Felix, Jisung, Hyunjin and Seungmin are YouTube ghost hunters, their newest trip to the Yeongdeok House leaves with more than they can chew; to start a stranger, Bang Chan, comes and asks for help after his friend wants to go ghost hunting, and things get a little tricky. The ghost doesn't want them there and Felix refuses to loose his chance to get evidence that ghosts are real.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Everyone, Han Jisung | Han & Everyone, Hwang Hyunjin & Everyone, Kim Seungmin & Everyone, Kim Woojin & Everyone, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) & Everyone, Lee Minho | Lee Know & Everyone, Seo Changbin & Everyone, Yang Jeongin | I.N & Everyone
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15
Collections: STRAY KIDS BIGBANG: 2020





	1. Chapter One

“Fruition is the point at which a plan is realized.”

  
Lifting his head from the table Felix squinted at his friend. Hyunjin giving random facts out of nowhere when he was tired was no surprise, yet tonight Felix knew he was just playing around. “You’re wrong. It’s just fruit and nutrition combined together.”

  
Hyunjin scoffed and rolled his eyes, taking a drink of his sprite. “I’m being serious.”

  
Next to the annoyed and sleepy blonde boy sat his best friend, who was already taking a nap against the cold window. Jisung’s mouth laid parted, softly pushing out air. Seungmin on the other hand was going through his camera looking at all of the photos the group took. His brows furrowed as he focused on the photos flowing through the screen, a mirrored version painted on his glasses. The four were in their own worlds, reliving the night's details, hoping to catch something that could be used for a video. Visiting Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital was not intentional, the destination being on the bottom of their lists; however, the building was scheduled for demolition soon and the boys knew if they wanted any proof of it being haunted, they had to go while they had the chance. The pair was too tired to listen through audio recordings and as always Seungmin was the only one looking for proof so soon after.  
Looking up at the wall clock, Felix’s face disappeared back into the table. 4:10 AM. The convenience store was empty despite the group of friends who took over a table in the corner. An organized pile of empty containers and plastic bottles sat at the edge of the table, a staple for every time they were there. Felix picked up a stray piece of plastic and examined it, before sliding it off the tip of his finger and into the empty ramen container. The soft scrapes of a broom glided over as Woojin, the clerk for tonight, picked up their pile.

  
“Thanks Woo,” Felix mumbled into the table.

  
Woojin gave a small nod followed by a sinking crinkle from the trash bag.

  
Hyunjin looked down at his bare notification screen before looking around the small store. Compared to the dark hospital, the inside was almost too bright. The ceiling had seen better days as cobwebs formed around the fluorescent lights and barely noticeable light brown spots decorated the tiles. The floor was clean despite the brown film that casted over it. Aside from the dingy look, the lime green accents masked all of the impurities. It was hard to focus on the brown blemishes when you had chairs disguised as highlighters surrounding you. Many times before Hyunjin would spot differences around the store, some as small as a shelf not having as much stock as the time before or an item being on sale for the weekend. Tonight felt different, and he could tell the others sensed it too. Moving his foot under the table he kicked Jisung, who nudged closer into the window.

  
“Ji, Ji, wake up,” kicking him again earned him a groan from his friend.

  
“Hyunjin, leave me the fuck alone,” the younger mumbled under his breath.

  
“Ji, seriously get up we need to talk.”

  
Opening his eyes, his bottom lip jutted out as he ran a hand through his hair. As his eyes adjusted to the newfound brightness, he overlooked his friends. Seungmin was wearing his glasses and focusing harder than usual while Felix had his head glued to the table. Narrowing his eyes at Hyunjin, he crossed his arms over his chest, letting out an annoyed sigh.

  
Hyunjin switched sides and nudged his other friend, “Lix.”

  
Looking up, Felix copied Jisung before muttering a quick “ah,” as he stretched. “Are we leaving?” His deep voice croaked, diverting Seungmin from his camera.

  
The boy shook his head as the other gave questioning looks.

  
Woojin walked past mopping the floor around them, humming to the song that played over the speakers. He seemed to notice the boys not being their usual talkative selves and leaned the mop against the wall behind them.

  
“I was looking forward to how the hospital was all day, what’s wrong?” He pulled a chair up and looked between the boys.

No one was talking, and instead they were playing a secret game of not it, hoping one of them would pick up the signal. How are they going to admit defeat after all the bragging they did? Gonjiam was supposed to be THE place that would boost their views and prove that they were not fakes but it turned out to be a disappointment.

“We didn’t find anything,” Felix mumbled, placing his head back onto the table. “It was a total bust, we didn’t have a single thing happen.”

Strange as it sounded, Felix was right; nothing came out of their trip tonight and nothing gave them any reason to look back on their footage or their audio clips right away. The group had resulted in trying to antagonize their ghostly friends and were left with a bitter silence. Hyunjin thought it was funny, joking about them purposefully being silent to mess with them. He kept the thought to himself though, fear of being told to hush.

“So because you didn’t find anything while you were there you’re simply going to give up?” Woojin scoffed after seeing Felix and Jisung’s nods. “One bad hunt doesn’t define the ones that you have yet to do.”  
It wasn’t like Woojin to scold them. The one time he had was when Seungmin got hurt after a run in with the cops, you could say hilly areas are not your best friend in the dark.

“You guys are probably tired,” he sighed, looking between the boys taking in each of the boys’ appearances. Felix and Jisung fought the waves of sleep, forcing their eyes to stay open. While the pair matched their sleep deprived tendencies, Jisung was already in sleep mode, nodding back and forth while trying to focus. Seungmin’s glasses were resting lower than usual, masking the dark crescents under his eyes; the younger was fighting back yawns through clenched jaws. Hyunjin was the best looking out of all of them, even if his eyes betrayed him. Around the corner of his eyes was bloodshot, a pink shading giving a backdrop to the scattered, bright red veins. The lighting hadn’t helped them either, even with the bright contrast from outside, it still was not bright enough to wash them out.

“Go home, get some sleep. Review your findings and see what happens.”

The group got up and stretched, silent pops coming from various body parts. Seungmin’s camera bounced against his chest as he pushed the chair in.

Felix looked out the window into the softly lit night, glancing back at the clock on the wall. 4:30 AM.

Woojin smiled as his friends gave him small nods and slipped out the door.


	2. Chapter Two

Changbin stumbled over his feet as he tried to hold his friend up. Leaving their friend’s house for food, the boys had underestimated just how much they had drunk. The pair giggled as they wove through an invisible crowd, drunken mumbles spilling from their mouths. Tonight was cooler than most nights, the wind playing tag with their cheeks and whipping between their legs. The store’s light shined onto the asphalt in front of them, their smiles widening as they rushed to get inside. Struggling, Chan felt around for the door handle, initially missing it before trying to push it open. Behind the counter, Woojin looked up from his book and watched his two friends struggle, his lips tugging into a soft smile. The boys' faces lit up as they finally remembered the door was not a push, but a pull and stumbled into the recently cleaned store.

“Hi, Woojin!" Changbin exclaimed, bypassing the counter and going toward the shelves of instant goods. “We came to get food," he squinted, trying to focus on the labels in front of him.

"And to see you,” his other friend added, grabbing three bottles of coke. “I missed you," Chan attempted to raise his eyebrows, his eyes widening instead, “you look just as good as the last time I saw you," his intoxicated banter gaining a chuckle from the clerk.  
“Where are you two coming from?” Woojin leaned across the counter, watching the two flounce around.

The two didn’t answer, too focused on finding their dinners.

There wasn’t a big difference between his two friend groups: Felix and his friends brought a type of kiddish joy he rarely saw in normal customers; and much to his surprise, so did Chan and Changbin. While Chan and Changbin were only a few years older than the others, the two had a different outlook on life. Countless times Woojin has seen people (who rarely spoke a single word to him) come and go. Their faces were blank and forced smiles had resided as they gave absentminded gratitude. When he first met the two, they had come in (much like tonight) giggly and hungry, shouting across the aisles. The next day, Chan had come in before one of his classes and Woojin briefly mentioned the night before. The flush that appeared on his cheeks as they teased each other was perhaps the most memorable for Woojin.  
“Woo,” Chan giggled, drinks and food tumbling out of his arms and onto the counter in front of them. “I got you some food.” He rested his head on the counter and watched as Woojin scanned each item.

Changbin sat at a table and swung his legs, giggling every so often at different thoughts.

Chan had zoned out more and more as he focused on Woojin’s hand. His eyes followed every movement before trailing up his purple apron to meet his face. A giggle slipped from between his lips and a smile danced upon his face, sliding his card toward the other. “Woo, I love you.”

Woojin grabbed the items and brought the food over to the table where the two sat, before reading over to the table where they sat, reading over the directions and placing them into the microwaves. Chan sat across from Changbin, his closed mouthed smile widening as the hum of the microwaves took over the small area.

The two friends swung their legs, playing to see who would get hit first. Changbin’s quiet giggle in celebration of winning the unspoken game caused Woojin to smile, only for his celebration to be cut short after Chan kicked him back followed by a “Yay!”

The beep of the microwaves cut the child’s play short, as they turned to look at their friend. They watched as he took both containers out and quietly fixed their food, humming to the song that played over his head.

“Have you ever thought about being a singer?” Chan rested his head onto the cold table, falling back into his dreamy following of Woojin’s movements.  
A chuckle slipped past his lips, placing the steaming containers down in front of the boys. Chan let out a whine, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest.   
“If I was an idol, you wouldn’t have anyone to come in and see when you’re drunk,” he said as he sat next to the younger and smiled. “Eat up.”  
Looking up at the older, Changbin kicked Chan’s foot, “I bet I can finish my food before you.”

At some point between the two racing to finish and actually finishing, Chan had found himself leaning against Woojin, hiccuping. Changbin had his head into his hands, swaying in and out of sleep. The pair had matching rose-tinted cheeks and red lips. Changbin’s eyes were almost sealed shut, smiling slightly at the older. The tinge of peach and spices wafted under Woojin’s nose, as he looked down at the already sleeping boy. Slowly moving from his grasp, he moved the younger’s head toward the table, collecting the empty food containers and soda bottles. Woojin grabbed a rag from behind the counter and started wiping down the table. As he shook the pair awake, he was met with groans of dissatisfaction. “You two need to get into a bed, sleeping on the table isn’t going to be comfortable in the least.”

Changbin squinted, taking in the surroundings. The sky was beginning to ombre into dark purple as clouds became visible. Looking at the overhead clock he raised an eyebrow. 6:30 AM

“Tell me we didn’t sleep here all night,” the other pleaded.

“You didn’t,” Woojin assured, “You’ve only been here for maybe an hour, you fell asleep after eating.”

Trying to make sense of what he said, he flashed a quick smile. “I fell asleep while on a date with you? Tragic.”

The two boys laughed it off as they forced themselves out of the chairs. Still the pair staggered toward the door turning to give their friend a quick wave goodbye.

“Bye, baby,” Chan winked.


	3. Chapter Three

Placing his laptop onto the coffee table, Felix headed to the kitchen. He had been looking at his laptop screen for hours on end while he went through audio files from last night. If he had to look at one more green vocal line before he got a banana pop in his system, he was going to lose it.

Glancing up from his screen, Jisung watched as the younger walked away, “Can you bring me the bag of honey chips on the way back?”  
He replied with a quick “Mhm” and opened the freezer in search of a banana pop. Grabbing the last one from the box, he tossed the box into the trash, and reached for the already opened bag of honey chips on the counter. Stopping to double check that he didn't want anything else, he heard the faint intake of breath from his friend, “You didn’t fall off the couch again did you?” Hearing the slap of his feet hitting the tile floor, Felix peaked around the corner, only to find his friend staring at his laptop. 

“Lix. Lix, we have something, we have something good,” his smile grew as he stumbled over his feet walking towards the boy. Jisung removed the headphones from his ears and shoved them into Felix’s chest, grabbing the bag of chips from his hands and placing it on the counter.

Throwing the still-wrapped banana pop onto the counter, Felix placed the headphones on and waited for the audio to play.  
While balancing the laptop in one hand, the older searched for the time stamp, watching the green vocal lines fly from second to second. He found the vocal spike and moved the starting point to right before it. Hitting the spacebar, he bit his lip nervously as Felix furrowed his eyebrows, listening closely. 

As his face relaxed, he looked over at Jisung, copying his smile from earlier. Soon Felix started jumping, clapping softly as he replayed the clip over in his head. Felix placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders as the pair bounced together, smiling and laughing. “Fuck yes!” his normally deep voice cracking as he yelled. “This is going to boost our views and prove we’re not fakes.”

“This means we’ll get paid more and we can go out more and we can get more video games!” Jisung babbled, thinking about all they can do with their nonexistent raise.

The boys shouted more ideas, playing off each other's excitement. “We can afford new console skins-”

“And new filming and recording equipment-”

“We can buy brand name chips-”

“This means better storage for our files-”

“Lix, imagine all the take out we can get.”

The pair was in their own world and didn’t hear the door open as their other roommates, Hyunjin and Seungmin, walked in. Slipping off their shoes and sliding on a pair of house shoes, they looked at each other, then the two bouncing boys, surrounding Felix’s computer with the bags of take out they had placed on the table. While ignoring the joyful babble of their friends, the two boys unpacked the bags, placing containers down and shifting the objects that were previously resting on the table top. Shoving plastic bags into each other, they tucked the bag of bags under the table.

“Are the two of you going to stop making out and come eat, or did Hyunjin and I buy all this food for ourselves?” Seungmin looked over at the pair, snapping them out of their own world.

Glaring over at his friend, Jisung stuck his tongue out before closing the laptop and heading back to his seat on the couch. Felix took the headphones off and sat across his friends, smiling as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks. The boys fussed at each other, joking back and forth as they shoved food down their throats. The room was full of laughter and screams, and at some point they would get a noise complaint, their neighbors probably tired of hearing the same commotion after a night or two of silence. Their spirits had been uplifted and the atmosphere had noticeably changed especially compared to last night and this morning. Felix and Jisung had slept until two that afternoon, waking up and immediately getting to work trying to decipher their audio clips and videos. Hyunjin and Seungmin had woken up later, opting to be the designated food runners and grab lunch for everyone. 

Felix leaned back against the couch, chewing the rice cake he had popped in his mouth. Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow and eyed the younger.  
“Why are you so smiley, Lix?” He questioned.

“I could ask Jisung the same thing,” Seungmin nodded toward the older, who donned the same look as Felix. 

The pair sat side by side, smiles plastered on their faces as their cheeks puffed out, full of food.

Swallowing what the others hoped was chewed food, Jisung let out a strangled huff, unable to contain his happiness from earlier. 

“We found evidence,” he picked up another rice cake as he watched his two friends' faces.

“Oh? Was it your footsteps again or—“

Felix cut Seungmin off with a wave of his hand, careful not to poke Jisung with the ends of his chopsticks. “No, like an actual voice this time. We split the duty of looking at the audio clips, I took everything I recorded alone in one room and he took his.”

Hyunjin looked into the distance, nodding slightly while thinking about the previous night. They knew Felix had gone into one of the patients’ rooms. It was earlier, when the group still had hope. He couldn’t remember if Jisung had split from the group, but as far as he knew, they had stayed together for most of the night- give or take a few times when someone walked ahead of the others. Deep in his own world, he hadn’t noticed Seungmin passing the headphones to him.

“Check it out, it seems legit.”

Placing down his makeshift bowl and utensils, he placed the headphones on his head, listening carefully. Between the sounds of Jisung's footsteps and his unfunny ‘so you come here often’ he could hear the quick _‘naga.’_ get out.


	4. Chapter Four

Chan rolled over with a groan, his head pounding in waves as he awoke. Next to him, Changbin followed his lead, letting out a disgusted scoff. He squinted at his phone, the bright screen helping in blinding the boy more than he already was. _3:15 PM._ He sat right up and scooted over to the edge of his bed, kicking his legs back and forth while playing with the comforter that had previously dressed the bed. He trudged toward the bathroom, trying to prepare himself for the next round of impending light, letting a grunt slip from his lips. Looking into the dirty mirror, he took in his appearance. Chan’s hair was going in every direction, curling around phantom fingers, and his eyes were tired, barely opening despite his hardest to open them more. His shirt was wrinkled and laid against his chest gently, giving the mountains of fabric a solid foundation. Poking at his face, he pouted, trying to remember the moments of the night before.

“Channie,” Changbin whined from the other room, followed by a gasp of air after as if he was having a hard time breathing.

“Hm,” the older responded, poking his head around the corner. Changbin hung halfway off the bed, his body sinking to the ground with an incoherent mumble. “Use your words, Bin, you know I can’t understand mumbles.”

This earned him another mumble, the younger forcing himself off his position on the floor, stumbling into Chan’s side.   
“Hyung, I’m hungry,” he pouted, keeping his eyes closed from the bathroom’s light.

Unlike the older, Changbin’s hair simply twisted within itself. It would take the other no more than a brush and some water for his hair to be normal again. A barely noticeable line of dried drool hugged the corner of his lip and down the side of his cheek. His eyes matched his cheeks, puffy and tired, light purple guiding a trail underneath his bottom lashes. His black shirt hung loosely off his shoulder, exposing the younger’s collarbone and adding to his disheveled look.

“I have to shower but after I get out we can get food okay?” His voice sounded foreign, his throat was dry from the lack of moisture.

Changbin rubbed his head against his friend’s shoulder, sliding away to go wait in the living room.

The pipes hissed as Chan turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. Grabbing a spare towel from the hallway closet, he placed one onto the toilet cover. He placed his fingers under the running water and immediately retracted them, the water burning the tips of them. Chan cursed and turned the temperature down before stripping himself of his clothes.

In the living room, Changbin flipped through channels aimlessly, sighing when he returned to the channel he started at. Nothing interested him and with his head hurting the way it was, he was sure he would rather be taken out than to wait for Chan to take him to get food. He wasn’t sure what exactly happened last night-- he remembers being at Minho’s place and eating. Everything after that is still hazy. He ran his hands over his head, doubling them back before running them through his hair. Absentmindedly, he paid attention to the drama on t.v, laughing softly at the lame attempts the main character proposed to help win the girl’s heart. 

A knock on the door pulled him from his trance, looking back from the room to the door he called out his friend’s name. “Chan!” He got up after hearing no response, mumbling hollow insults. Standing on his tiptoes, he looked through the peephole, eyeing down a nervous-looking Jeongin. He unlocked the door and opened it wide, smiling softly (or so he tried) at the younger, despite his annoyance.

“Good evening, Hyung!” He stepped in, heading straight toward the kitchen to unpack the paper bags he held. “Minho Hyung said you guys left his house and I wanted to make sure you had something to eat! Sorry for coming so late though, I had plans with my family.”

Changbin looked over the excited boy, taking note of his appearance. He wore a white shirt tucked into some shorts with a pair of long socks. A cap rested on the back of his head, the ends of his hair spilling out. Changbin hesitantly closed the door, walking into the kitchen to see what he brought. Containers filled with tteokbokki, mozzarella balls, and chicken littered the counter, while the younger checked to make sure everything was there. It was just like Jeongin to show up with too much food, claiming he knew the boys would eat it all and he was never wrong. Chan has mentioned countless times that he doesn’t need to bring so much food and they’d be fine with raiding the ramen stash he kept in his pantry. However, the younger insisted, saying that it would repay them for everything they had done for him at one point. Reaching to help him grab the last of the containers, Jeongin swatted his hand away, giving him a pout.

Chan walked out of the room, drying his hair with the towel. He suppressed a moan when the smell of food hit him. 

“Bin, I thought I said we could—” He started before seeing Jeongin smiling as he placed the paper bags on the other counter. He partially smiled. “Innie, I didn’t think you were coming until later.”

“Hyung! I brought food! Let’s eat, you two look like you could use some.”

The three brought the containers into the living room and placed them onto the coffee table before sinking onto the cold floor.

The drama that Changbin was absentmindedly watching had ended and a home shopping network replaced it. Stifling a laugh, Chan looked between the others and grabbed the remote. “What do you guys want to watch?”

Changing shrugged, looking over at the younger.

“Can we please watch Ghost Bros on YouTube? It's okay if you don't believe, but they’re really funny and I know you’ll like them,” Jeongin asked knowing the pair would say no, he’s mentioned time and time again but they never understood the appeal of ghost hunting shows, or ghosts for that matter.   
Letting out a soft sigh, Chan reached and grabbed the Xbox controller from the side table and switched the tv input.

A loud swish played through the speakers, Chan scrambling to turn the volume down as the others jumped.

The three let out chuckles as he navigated the dashboard, looking for YouTube. Typing in the first word, Jeongin bounced as he pointed to the screen, “That's it, that's them!”

Chan clicked on the most recent video, which was uploaded only a few minutes ago, and set the controller back before picking up a pair of chopsticks and watching the buffering screen.


	5. Chapter Five

_‘Hello? Is anyone there?’ Felix’s deep voice boomed through the empty hallway._

_The only light was coming from the camera as they stepped around piles of papers and old equipment. Their camera man, presumably Seungmin, stifled a laugh. ‘They don't understand Australian.’_

_Felix smiled and nodded, ‘oh, right.’ He looked up and stopped walking, thinking hard before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, ‘I’m not sure what to say,’ he muttered before the pair laughed and continued down the corridor._

_Their classic glitch cutscene flashed before Jisung’s self cam came into view._

_The younger had strayed away from the rest, moving through the connected rooms with ease as he shakily looked around. ‘Yoohoo big summer blowout,’ he called, peaking into the last room. He bit his lip before the view switched to the personal camera. The room had dusty particles dancing around, landing on items it deemed worthy. Patient files spewed around the floor and tables, rust taking over metal pieces. Quickly getting bored he turned to leave, stopping as if he heard something. It was quiet for a moment, before a faint ’naga’ could be heard._

At the same time, in the store Woojin was working at, he was listening to the video and cracked a side smile, nodding to himself. 

As if on queue, the door dinged and Felix walked in, throwing a small wave in Woojin's direction. The other placed his phone back under the counter where it normally was. “Hey.”

The younger’s backpack hung low against his back, clinging onto his shoulder. The blonde weaved through aisles, picking up snacks and grabbing a drink from the cooler. It wasn’t long before he brought his goods to the counter, letting out a half-relieved sigh.

“Where are you coming from?” Woojin asked absentmindedly while scanning the items.

“I was at the library, believe it or not, I was looking up things about our next place.” 

Felix seemed off, staring into the counter, deep in thought.

“Is everything going okay?” The question slipped before he could rethink the thought. Felix wasn’t one to open up when something was bothering him. Instead, he would sit on the thoughts until they eventually went away. But it wasn’t like Woojin was invading his space or asking something that crossed boundaries, it was unlikely that he would notice.

“I guess. I just can't seem to find any solid information about the place,” Felix replied, surprising Woojin a little.

Woojin only nodded however, watching as Felix got out the cash for the total.

The two stood in a comfortable silence, keeping each other company. The rustle of the bag intruded the silence, leaving the two at a loss for words. 

“How much information is there?” Woojin broke the silence. No one else was in the store, allowing Woojin to speak with Felix uninterrupted. 

“There’s information, but all the information is a bunch of rumors or potential ideas, nothing that has any solid proof.” Grabbing the bag from the counter, Felix let it hang and bounce against his leg. 

“Ah, have you tried reverse searching?”

He looked up and shook his head, “even if I could, there’s not enough to reverse search anything.”  
It was definitely a hard situation to be in. Woojin knew how much work the group put into each visit and each house, making it hard to make many errors, if any.

“Did you think about skipping it until you had enough time to dig deep into it?”

The younger gave him a quick nod. “But this is what comes with the job. I know as much as I want to be able to ignore the hard ones and go for an easier building or area, I can’t.” 

When starting Ghost Bros, Felix came up with a method that would keep their channel alive. He made lists allowing all the (actual) haunted areas to be carefully splitting up the haunted areas, so they wouldn’t be putting out back-to-back content of the same kind of places. They would post every two weeks, giving enough time to do research, check out the destinations, and edit their videos, without boring their viewers. And Felix stood strong by this plan. 

“I see, why don’t you take a break? You were editing for a week straight, it must be tiring.”

“I understand your concern, Woo, but I’m fine and so are the boys. Just a little stumped, that's all. Plus, I want to stick to our upload schedule. Today is research day and I’m not confident enough in what I’ve gathered- I think I’m going to stay up later tonight before our train in the morning.”

Woojin gave him a tight lipped smile, nodding in understandment. “You’ve got this, just wished you would take a break sometimes.”

“Yeah, we’re going back in order though, so the Yeongdeok house is next,” Felix looked out the window, staring into the busy streets. “I have to say, I might actually be scared for this one.”


	6. Chapter Six

Chan wasn’t sure why he thought agreeing to Jeongin's request was a good thing, but he did slightly regret it. His roommate was fine and didn't see how it was potentially harmful. None   
Neither of them believed in ghosts, they knew it was highly unlikely of something actually being there and possible of harming or messing with human beings.

Jeongin, on the other hand, was naive and had some hope that they existed in some form. He watched ghost shows and followed a few “hunters” on his socials, yet he had never mentioned to anyone that he wanted to go. 

He shook his head of the thoughts and headed toward the store, stopping as someone excited. Chan went to mumble a quick ‘thank you’ before realizing it was Woojin.

“Oh! Hey,” Woojin smiled, stepping aside for his friend to join him. 

“You’re getting off?”

He nodded.

“Oh, I was coming by to see you,” Chan fell in step with his friend, walking with him toward the subway.

“You missed me that much? I was surprised you would remember much from the other night.”   
Woojin playfully thought back the memory, tilting his head to the side and squinting.

“The- the other night?” He hadn’t meant to stutter, instantly worried about what had happened this time.

Despite his protests, Chan knew how much of a flirt he could be when he was drinking. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind he had pulled the card he always did and resorted to flirting with the clerk. He didn't remember much, only how he went to get food and ate with his two friends, which Woojin never seemed to mind.

Woojin let out a laugh, patting the younger on the back. “Relax, it was the same as it always was: just you being cute,” he mockingly pinched his cheeks, leaving the other blushing.

Looking away, Chan watched as cars passed and people pushed through the evening crowd.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Chan looked up, his mouth opening then closing before anything came out. He wasn’t completely sure why he wanted to talk to him, he just did. It was likely due to the fact that he needed to talk to someone about his future ghost hunting trip, that Jeongin talked him into, from someone who wasn’t going to be biased. 

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

Woojin looked straight ahead, stopping as the light turned green, letting cars pass. “I can’t say I don’t, then again I can’t say I do. Who's to say ghosts do or don't exist?”

Chan thought hard, trying to find the answer to his question. _Was there even an answer?_

“You don’t have to answer. But it is a good question to think about. I had this conversation once before with some friends. They enjoy the thrills and have managed to make a living off of it.”  
There was silence before he continued down the street, his friend in tow.

“You can ask that question to every person you pass and the answer will always be different, and if they’re not, they’re similar.”

“So you might believe?”

“I think there’s enough evidence to prove that they do exist, but I also think not all evidence is trustworthy nor could they not be proven wrong.”

“Wouldn’t it just be safe to say that they don't exist then?”’

Woojin wondered. He wasn’t sure if he believed or if he didn’t, ghosts were the kind of things that if you believed too hard then you would go in head first and potentially imagine things are happening. He stayed opened-minded but not opposed.

“Why do you ask? I didn’t take you one to believe,”

Chan was caught off guard, putting his hands up in defense. “I don't, I mean I don’t think I do, or—“ he took a deep breath, “Jeongin managed to convince everyone to go ghost hunting and I don't think there's a point behind it. It sounds like a waste of time and money.”

The pair had stopped in front of the station, facing each other.

“Changbin and Minho see no harm, they don't think ghosts exist either. But why would they agree if they don't care?” Chan’s eyebrows furrowed, thinking hard. There was no reason to agree to something you don’t believe in, so _what_ was the point?

Woojin watched people head into the subways, licking his lips. “Have you ever done something you shouldn’t have done? Trespassed, stayed after hours, stolen?” 

Chan shook his head. “Not anything to that extent, I’ve gone out late when my parents have told me ‘no’ though.”

“And you felt a rush?”

Chan nodded.

“That’s what it's like ghost hunting, or so I’ve heard. Maybe you’re too focused on trying to find a spirit and being let down that you’re not looking for the adventure.” Checking the time, Woojin placed a hand onto Chan’s shoulder. “I have to catch a train but think about it.”

As his friend headed into the sea of people, he thought about what he said. _Maybe you're too focused on trying to find a spirit and being let down that you're not looking for the adventure._

What was it that made Jeongin believe, to where he wanted to go out himself and do it. What made Chan not believe? Was it as simple as Woojin said? Chan shook his head and headed back toward the store. Is it possible he was just saying he didn’t believe because it was the majority vote? One can’t believe something nor have proof if one doesn't go get it themself. Not once has he thought about going ghost hunting- not when they watched ghost movies, nor when they watched ghost shows that portrayed it as something exciting. Maybe this was his chance to go out and find the proof he needed, maybe he would find a ghost and it wouldn’t be so bad.

As quickly as the thoughts ran through his head, he instantly pushed them somewhere else. There was no way he’d put himself in such a foolish mindset. He knew he didn’t believe and there was no way to convince him otherwise. His friends can believe what they want to, and as Woojin said, not every person has the same answer, no matter how similar.

And as if he knew what Chan was thinking, Jeongin called.

“Hyung, I found a place! It’s called the Yeongdeok House.”


	7. Chapter Seven

“Deflagrate means to cause something to burn in such a manner,” Hyunjin said through a muffled yawn.

“Of course it does,” Felix sighed, looking down at his phone, watching the time change. _5:30 am._

The train was fairly empty, giving the group their own section of the car. Jisung was pressed against the window, already succumbing back into his sleeping state. Behind him, Hyunjin watched the trees outside pass, nodding in and out of sleep. Seungmin was keeping himself busy, reading a book with his lips pressed in a tight line. The sun was already rising, the pink chasing the purple skies away, in a last attempt to outrun the yellow.

Felix chewed on his lip while going over the details in his head. The house was abandoned and sat on a hilly seaside of Yeongdeok. Not much information was found, as none of the stories anyone had gathered matched, however they found overlapping details. It was believed to have been built on the same grounds where many soldiers had perished and, in another instance a young girl had committed suicide. He wasn’t sure how much he believed, there was one site that had told him otherwise, saying there was another incident. It said an owner died in a car crash. Unlike other places, there was little to no information on this house, and the few paranormal reports seemed mundane: spirits groaning for help or seeing apparitions. That worried him, everyone was willing to go four hours from home with no solid (or any) proof just for the hopes of seeing a ghost.

Seungmin excused himself, tapping the half-awake Felix as he pointed his head in the direction of the bathroom.

Felix nodded in response, turning his head toward the ceiling and closing his eyes and focused on the muffled sounds of the train.

When Seungmin returned, his friends were sound asleep, soft snores leaving Hyunjin’s mouth. Even if he wanted to sleep, his nerves wouldn’t let him due to the uneasy feelings he couldn’t shake off about the house.

They were two hours into the ride and he still hadn’t slept yet. Seungmin thanked himself for going to sleep early the night before or else there was no way he would be able to survive the day. The sun was up and casted a glow against his friends. As it danced crossed their cheeks, the boy smiled to himself, going back to his book.

***

Arriving into Yeongdeok, it was busier than the group expected. Many were vacationing and pushed past as they made their way to their hotels and the beach. Sticking close together, Jisung whined of being hungry, only to be shushed by Hyunjin. Felix checked how far they would have to travel, taking in their surroundings. They had just gotten off the bus, a minor setback to their day. The sun beat down onto the group as they waited for Felix’s directions.

“I’m hungry,” Jisung was beginning to get antsy, his bottom lip jutting out into a pout. Looking around, he spotted a set of purple chairs and immediately recognized the small CU store. Pulling on the sleeve of Hyunjin’s shirt, he pointed across the street, sending a silent plea. 

Following the younger’s finger Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow, looking over as his two friends fought with Google Maps. “We’re going to go across the street to get some snacks.”

Seungmin nodded, waving his friend’s statement off, focusing on looking over Felix’s shoulder.  
Looking both ways, Hyunjin and Jisung watched as cars flew past, counting before sprinting across the busy street, car honks following suit.

The store resembled a smaller version of the one back home, minus the clean floors and indoor brightness. While similar, this store was covered in sand and products were placed in incorrect spaces. The ice cream coolers were littered with fingerprints, making certain names hard to read. Hyunjin and Jisung looked between each other before heading down the aisle looking for candy. As they shuffled through the shelves, they collected chocolate bars, gummies, and snack cakes, balancing them between their arms. 

Turning back to their friends, Felix and Seungmin were ready to break the bad news of potentially being lost. But, not seeing their friends nearby, they sighed before spotting the store across the street. Without waiting for the light to change, they weaved between stopped cars, and stepped inside the corner store. A light breeze blew through their hair, followed by a brittle “welcome” making the pair look up.

Behind the counter an older lady smiled, and she gave a small wave. Her black hair was speckled with gray strands and pulled back into a low ponytail. Her shirt was slightly wrinkled and mocked a lacy neckline. Together they gave a quick ‘hi’ before looking around the small store to find their two idiot friends. It wasn’t long before finding Hyunjin and Jisung hunched over the drink cooler, struggling to keep a grip on their snacks.

Hyunjin groaned, rolling his eyes and moved his gaze from his friend. “Hurry up, it shouldn’t take this long to choose a drink,”

Huffing, Jisung grabbed the two he was looking at and straightened up, “I’ll get them both then.”  
Felix and Seungmin shook their heads, letting out exasperated sighs. “Can we please get going, at this rate we won’t be able to eat before check-in.”

The boys nodded, bringing their treats to the register. 

“Lix, maybe we should get snacks too, for later on and tomorrow,” Seungmin gave him a small pat on the back before searching for his snacks as well.

Reluctantly, he searched the store, picking up some chips, candy, and some drinks while planning ahead for their late night excursion.

His friends had already paid when he made his way to the counter. Gently placing his items down, he watched as she scanned them with shaky hands. If he had to guess, she had probably lived in this area for a while and could help them in finding this house. While he did his research and checked where the house could be, he wasn’t sure how to get there from their hotel, things were different now that both Google Maps and Naver were failing him. 

“May I ask you something?” Felix swallowed the lump in his throat, suddenly overthinking his Korean.

The older lady nodded with a smile.

“What would be the best way to get to the Yeongdeok house?”

Hearing the words slip from his mouth, her smile dropped, and her face went blank. “You shouldn’t go poking around there,” she replied quietly. “It's not safe.”

“Is there anything you could tell me about it? When I tried looking for—“

“I’m not sure how you found out about that place but if you know what’s good for you, you won’t go there,” and as his friends looked over at the two, her smile returned. “Your total is ten thousand won.”

Handing her the money, Felix grabbed his bag of goods and regrouped with his friends, beginning their trip to the hotel.

Behind them, she wished them a good day and closed the door.


	8. Chapter Eight

Closing the web browser, Chan sighed. Jeongin managed to talk their friends into going ghost hunting, but the place they chose had no information on it.

Changbin was sitting on the opposite side of the couch when he noticed the distress his friend was in. “You’ve been staring at your computer screen for hours, that can’t be good for your eyes.”

“I can't find any information on that house Jeongin sent me.”

“How so.”

Chan leaned back against the cushion, placing his hands behind his head. “I have the address and all the important details. But there’s no consistent information about hauntings or sightings.”

Raising an eyebrow, Changbin looked over his friend. “Are you sure you’re Chris? Why would it matter if there were ‘hauntings’ or ‘sightings,’ ghosts aren’t real.” He dismissed the claims and mentally waved his friend off. Changbin understood where he was coming from; however, they both knew there was no such thing as physical ghosts. He merely said yes to appease his friend, knowing this was something he was excited about. Minho had mentioned once before how excited Jeongin gets while watching ghost shows, as the pair had made it a ritual to watch a few episodes every Friday. Although Minho didn’t have a set opinion on ghosts, he thought that it was interesting enough.

“You saw the Ghost Bros video. They do research like this all the time. It would also have to be valid information so we know what we’re getting into. What if it was scratches? We could watch out for pieces of wood or metal spikes.” Chan was rambling, finding any justification that would fit  
.  
“But you can’t find any so it must be fine.”

Chan bit his tongue, reminding himself that not everyone has the same views. Though he did feel as if they should watch out for things like that, Changbin felt as if it was still all made up- people could be making the marks themselves and it isn’t hard to act scared. There tended to be multiple accounts of activities happening around places like these. The house itself looked run down, graffiti was scattered along the walls as they exhibited signs of death. The worst that could happen was stepping into rotted wood or even feces, or maybe the small chance of being possessed by a demon.

“Do you believe in demons?”

Changbin had gotten up and was ransacking the older’s kitchen, looking for the snacks and goods that were always hidden behind the open boxes of noodles, seasonings, and protein bars. The question took him by surprise as he stopped and thought. 

“Possibly.”

He wasn’t so sure. 

“What's the difference between a ghost and a demon? Are they not both supernatural?” Chan wasn’t so sure why he was asking the question himself. He knew that neither existed, but if you believed in one, why would you not believe in the other?

“I guess, but demons are worse, you can call on them and they’ll come. Ghosts, you can’t.”

“Are you sure about that? What exactly are seances?”

The pair sat in silence, pondering the questions at bay. Neither knew the answers, not sure if there was a right answer or not. Would this mean they were wrong and there was in fact a way to encounter a ghost?

“What’s got you so interested in ghosts all of a sudden?” Changbin was confused, the questions didn't make sense and made sense all at the same time. What was the difference? And if there was no difference, why would you believe one instead of the other?

“I’ve just been thinking. I know ghosts aren’t real, most encounters are based on the person's perception and it isn’t hard to convince someone to believe you.”

Giving him a slight nod, Changbin sat on the couch with a fresh bag of honey butter chips.

“But we still need to be prepared. I don’t want anything happening because we didn’t think about the obvious.”

And with that, the two went back to their separate devices, Chan tapping away to search for more information about the house and Changbin focusing on the show in front of him.

Opening a new tab, he searched for ways to get to Yeondeok, and found there were plenty of options: from train, to bus, to taxi. Looking at where the house was located and where the station was, he would have to walk to get to where he needed to be. It wouldn’t be too hard, it was a win-win situation. Even if the house wasn’t as safe or clear as he’d like it to be, he could still enjoy a day by the beach and relax for once. Yeongdeok was a nice area, the east side being surrounded by water and turning the town into one big beach. There was no doubt people would be coming for a visit, so they wouldn’t draw any suspicion as they checked out the local area. If something were to happen, they can simply say they got lost and hadn’t realized the place was as bad as it seemed. They were kids who were purely walking around and happened to stumble upon the house.  
Though he thought it would be nice to go alone, it wouldn’t be practical. He didn't even know how to get to the store most of the time without needing directions from Siri. Looking over at his friend who was engrossed in the TV, he cleared his throat.  
“You’re off tomorrow, right?”

Changbin nodded.

“Good. You, Minho, and I are going to Yeongdeok and we’re checking the house out ourselves.”

“Without Innie?” 

Chan bit his lip, “we need to make sure it’s safe.”

The younger thought about it, was it all worth it? He heard of Yeongdeok before, knowing it was a sight to see and the people were friendly. At worst, he could hang out on the beach, getting the vacation he deserved, even if it was only for a day. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?”


	9. Chapter Nine

Seungmin had cracked the sliding glass door as the group settled into the room. 

They had checked into their hotel after getting lunch at a nearby cafe, and were unpacking their equipment in the process. Wrappers from candy bars and chewy candies were scattered across the main living area, as the group tried to relax. Their hotel was slightly smaller than their apartment and made the boys feel right at home, easing some of the nerves that threatened to take over. Faint sounds of the people talking and kids screaming as the waves crashed onto the shore played in the background as a soundtrack to their quiet room.

Felix laid their cameras onto the coffee table, making sure they brought everything. Countless times before, they had forgotten battery packs, SD cards, and, once, a whole camera. Usually, they were, at most, an hour away from home, giving them the time to send someone back to the house to get the missing item. Right now, however, they were hours away from home and had no chance of easily turning around. Hyunjin watched as more equipment covered the table and double checked, looking over every piece with caution.

It was silent in the room, Seungmin focused on his book while Jisung watched a video on cheetahs. Compared to how they usually were, the group wasn’t jittering and filled with excitement. An uncomfortable fog settled over the boys, and as Felix looked up, he realized they were all staring out the window, deep in thought. He got up and headed into the kitchenette to grab a bottle of water. Their falsely accused ease brought a shiver down his spine, giving his body a shake. His gaze rested back onto the window, watching the distant trees sway against the wind.

***

The next morning, Felix was the first up and showered, waiting for his friends to get out of the sleepy daze they were once in. To his surprise, Jisung was the next up, shuffling into the bathroom. The sound of the shower kicking on made the younger nervous. Taking a step out onto the balcony, he watched as kids ran ahead of their parents and hushed ‘Yeo-gi’’s were heard in an attempt to pull their kids back in. The morning breeze was cooler than in Seoul, bringing the crisp ocean air right to Felix. Growing up in Australia, his family often visited the beach, summers consisted of a week long trip, and fall embraced warm fires. The Yeongdeok breeze was nothing compared to the ones back home, though given the current circumstance, it brought more comfort than it did last night. Seungmin’s banging on the bathroom door snapped Felix out from his thoughts and diverted his attention back inside.

“Hurry up, Jisung, I still have to shower!”

Stepping inside, he closed the sliding door behind him, letting the warm room engulf him once again. The shower was turned off and a soft scoff was heard through the door as Jisung walked out with his towel around his waist, hand drying his hair.

The rest of the morning went by fast. Jisung and Seungmin were jumping and eventually woke Hyunjin up and shoved him into the shower. As their friend showered, the others stood around in silence, scrolling through their feeds and replying to fans. 

Except Felix. He was looking at ways to reach the house, and since he wasn’t able to find an explicit address, he needed to find a way there that didn't involve walking. He also thought back on the reaction he got when he asked the store worker on how to get to the house, the way she quickly shut down his question and closed the door behind them. Would this mean that requesting a taxi driver to take them close to the house would give him the same response? What was it about this house had her so adamant about them not going? Scrolling through the current article that he found, he noticed that there was a guest house located right next to the house. With this information, he planned that after they get breakfast and fully wake up, they can call a taxi and claim that they’re going to this guest house to stay. They wouldn’t be questioned as to why they were going by the house. Why would they know any different?

“Lix?” Jisung had cocked an eyebrow, looking over his friend’s facial expression.  
Hyunjin had gotten out of the shower and dressed, standing next to the others by the door.

“Yes, sorry, ready?” He slid his phone into his pocket. Last night, they found a cafe nearby, vowing to come back in the morning. 

It wasn’t on purpose. They were attempting to get some footage for their opening, the sun was setting and as visitors escaped back to their hotels, locals started to close shops down and restaurants prepared for a dinner rush. They noticed it in a secluded area after the group got lost and went down one wrong alley, finding the owner taking out trash and asking directions to their hotel. 

The doorbell rang as the four boys stepped into the cafe, gaining smiles from the workers. The cafe was warmer than Felix expected. Compared to the other buildings, the lights casted a golden glow over the area, giving a fake golden hour. His friends were heavily looking over the menu, searching for what to eat, knowing the day ahead of them was going to be a big one. Felix, on the other hand, just wanted some coffee. Something to wake him up and keep him active. Ordering an americano, and a bagel per his friends’ wishes, he chose a table in the corner and sat down. One by one, his friends joined him, setting their trays of food down, and waited for his instructions.

Felix wasn’t the “mastermind” of the group- he didn’t have that kind of control over everyone, nor was he their leader. If the group had a leader, it would be Seungmin: he brought everyone back together when they were too scared to go into a house, or when they were procrastinating work. Aside from the business perspective, Seungmin focused on making sure the boys were well-rested and taking care of themselves. It wasn’t too common that the boys fell out of their groove and needed someone to help them back in, but when they did, he was always there to help and be a shoulder to lean on. Seungmin was the backbone of the group and there truly was never a moment where Felix wasn’t grateful for him, even when he picked up on the emotions he tried to hide.

“Are you feeling okay, Felix?” Seungmin had taken a sip of his coffee, crossing his ankles, “you haven’t been as talkative.”

“Do you guys feel like we’re going head first into a situation we shouldn’t be going into?”  
Hyunjin and Jisung, who were focused on their food and scrolling through their social media, stopped and looked over at the blonde.

“This is our job, of course we go into places we shouldn’t,” Jisung forced a laugh, placing his phone down. “We go into abandoned places and risk trespassing charges for the job.”  
“Yeah, but we know nothing about this house, and yesterday—“

“Is this about the store lady?” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, he heard what she said, blowing it off as an old lady thinking they were up to no good. “She was probably trying to scare you.”

“She seemed serious, what if we shouldn’t go—“

“Come on! We came all the way out here just to not go? Felix, so what if you didn’t find any information on this house? Do you not remember the struggle you went through when we went to the abandoned train station? There was nothing on that place, but now, just because some old hag said ‘we shouldn’t go there, is it time to give up?”

Seungmin let out a sigh and placed his cup down with a muffled clank. “Hyunjin has a point. Lix, it’s probably just your nerves, let's just eat and get going.”

The rest of their meal was finished in silence, Felix taking small sips of his drink.

Everyone gathered their dishes and placed them at the edge of the table, saying goodbyes as they left.

Flagging down a taxi, Felix gave them the address to the guest house, the driver’s face dropping.

“Are you boys aware of where you're going?” Hyunjin, Jisung, and Seungmin looked between each other.

“No, sir, the room was cheap and close to the beach!” Felix replied enthusiastically. “The guest house is secluded, so it gives us privacy- we’re a noisy bunch.”

“Don’t go into the house next door, there’s too many of you kids who think it’s fun to explore an abandoned house, and poke your noses into places you don’t need to be.” Unlike the lady from before, the driver seemed more open to talk about what has happened there.

Swallowing hard Felix looked down at his fingers, running each thumb over the other. “What has happened there?”

The car was silent for a moment while the driver thought. The silence seemed to be focused on how much to disclose, and not on gathering what he knew.

“ _Ahjussi,_ ” Seungmin spoke carefully, choosing his words slowly. “What do you know about the house?”

Letting out a sigh, the older man ran a hand over his face. “The house is on a plot where student soldiers have perished, those who go there often hear their groans. There’s rumored to be a ghost of a woman, who may have committed suicide after the death of a lover. When the dead pass due to bad situations, they don’t rest, she’s vengeful.”  
The air in the car was heavy as it dawned on the boys what exactly they were getting themselves into. 

As they pulled into the long driveway of the guest house, they could see the house over the tall grass, paint was replaced with graffiti. The windows were shattered, some no more than a creative hole in the wall, and wood pieces from the frame were sticking out. Letting out a quiet ‘thank you,’ the boys exited the car and watched as he backed out and drove away. Looking around the back, geese honked and waddled past, looking over the new visitors. The group hopped over the brick ledge and inched between the trees and the house, trying to blend into the background. Trying not to get caught, they sprinted around, stopping as the front came into view, the house was dark despite how sunny it was outside. It was a type of dark that felt both inviting and threatening.

“Woah,” Jisung took slow steps forward, taking in the whole view of the house.

Unwillingly moving his gaze to examine the outside of the house, Felix noticed the front left side of the building. There were number 4’s spray painted across, leaving no space untouched. _Death._

Felix looked into the house and thought he saw someone stare back, silently beckoning the group in.

_Enter at your own risk._


	10. Chapter Ten

Getting up, Minho pulled at his shorts, allowing the sand to fall. “I’m going to have the ugliest rash,” he groaned.

His two friends watched his discomfort with smiles, gentle laughs leaving their lips.

Chan’s cheeks burned bright red, the layers of sunblock doing no good. He squinted with a hand over his eyes, his glasses abandoned on top of his head. The ends of his bangs had already dried, forgetting the water that was once entwined with the strands an hour before. In contrast to the warm sand, Chan’s pale body would have been mistaken for a piece of sheet metal. Next to him, Changbin’s cheeks mimicked the elders, dusted pink. His sunglasses took up most of his face, leaving pale marks into the top of his cheeks. Unlike the other two, his hair still dripped from going into the water every ten minutes to cool off. Sand had stuck to the sides of his torso, speckling his body with itchy grains. He was propped onto his elbows, and as seconds passed, he sunk into the sand which forced himself to reposition. Their towels were wrinkled, sand invading the once clean surface.

“You guys hungry?” Minho was beginning to get tired of the beach, specifically the sand.

Chan sighed and stood up himself, stretching and brushing off the few patches of sand. “I could go for some food,”

Changbin had this feeling that they weren’t going to get food, and that whatever they were going to do instead, wasn’t going to be fun.  
The boys picked up their towels and dusted them off, sand flying over their faces and into the wind to who knows where. Minho whined, trying to rid his face of the invasive dust. Together, they trudged through the warm ground, making their way to the main road. Looking around, Chan stopped at a building across the street, swallowing hard. The red trim peeked over the hill as illegible fading black lines showed their faces. The tall grass swayed allowing previews of broken windows and destroyed brick, darkness staring back at him. Following his gaze, Changbin watched in silence, fearing the next words to leave his friend’s mouth.  
“It’s the house.."

The three stood in silence as cars whizzed past, taking in the view of what was soon to be their playground. Compared to photos, the house seethed a form of darkness that made the hot day colder.

“We can come back—“

“Come on, Bin, we’re right here, it’ll take no time at all.”

Minho felt nauseous, not sure if it was because of his empty stomach or if it was the house itself. Just by being across the street, he already felt like he was invading someone's privacy; and much to his dismay, no matter how bad he wanted to look away, he couldn’t. As they walked up from the bottom of the hill, he could almost feel someone staring back, as if they were watching his every step, telling him to leave. With the house coming into sight, muffled sounds of screams stopped the boys in their steps. Hiding behind a thick patch of grass, they peeked out, watching as four kids ran from inside, shouting at each other.

“I swear to god if you dropped the camera—“

“I didn’t, I swear!”

“Did you catch it?”

Their conversation disappeared with them as they rounded the side of the house, and vanished into the back.   
Coming out from the grass, the three looked at each other, jumping after hearing a honk. A goose waddled past, giving the boys a once over before going on its way.

Up close, the house looked worse. From the photos Chan had shown him, the house still seemed full of life, misunderstood by false stories. Looking at it face to face, he could see where the stories came from. Minho wasn’t worried. Though he had some skepticism, he leaned more on the non-believer side. There were things that couldn’t be explained with common excuses (an air vent or wind flow, dust particles, etc.). When he agreed to go ghost hunting, he did it because he wanted to see what was out there, what else was possibly existing among them. Jeongin had convinced him to watch ghost shows and ‘top ten ghosts caught on tape’ videos, and the more he watched the more he started to believe. He didn’t trust every story on the internet or every video. However, no matter how much he didn’t want to believe, he knew there was a piece of him that did.

Chan was in awe. The house was just as he expected. He came prepared, keeping a box of bandaids in his bag in the off chance of the impossible happening. His heart rate was picking and deep down he knew he shouldn’t be here. He knew he shouldn't go into places he wasn’t welcomed nor invited to, but he couldn’t help himself. It was mid day and while the sun shined down over both the town and the boys, the house had the infamous Twilight(™) filter over it. Taking a step forward, he was ready to be embraced by the dark that called toward him, only stopping when Changbin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you sure we should be going in there?” His eyebrows were slightly raised and his gaze avoided looking at the house.  
“What are you scared of, a ghost getting you?” Chan wiggled his fingers and hunched his shoulders.

“It—it just doesn’t look safe,” Changbin dropped his hand, letting it bounce against his side. He knew Chan was going to make them go in there, and it wouldn’t matter how much he protested. Was his friend right? Was he scared of seeing a ghost? Mentally shooing the thought away, he looked between his two friends, who were beginning to walk into the house. He wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into, but he sure as hell wished it would end okay.

Changbin followed behind his friends, as they watched their steps, taking in the features of the house. Unopened bottles of soju and other drinks were left on the ground, surrounded by dirt and leaves. Graffiti scattered the inside, leaving no wall untouched, showcasing phallic images and disgusting words. 

As they made their way through the upstairs rooms, Changbin couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them. Too scared to turn around and check, he squeezed between his two friends, throwing his arms around their shoulders. The house was silent, the geese seemed to have quiet down as well. The house had been defaced and destroyed, broken glass becoming the new flooring. Pieces of wood and bundles of leaves created new furniture that invited you to sit and relax. In the background the waves crashed far too silently against the shore, making the boys question just how far they were from the beach.

Their exploration seemed to drag on and the longer it did, the faster Chan started to lose his adrenaline. Catching his eye, he did a quick check of the room they passed, the door was cracked open, allowing a narrow line of sight. Stopping, he turned slightly, peering into a bright room, catching a brief movement. While checking each room, he wasn’t able to shake this feeling that someone was watching their every move. Every time they took a step forward, the eyes would watch their step. This room was no different. If there was someone watching them, it would have to be from here. Stopping to face the room, he opened the door swiftly, banging it against the wall. There wasn’t anyone there, neither a sign of a bird nor human. A low whistle from the wind, made him let out a sigh. Looking around, there wasn’t anything that was big enough that could catch his eye the way the shadow did. Much like the other rooms, there were leaves and broken glass on the floor, followed by pieces of trash and empty containers. Turning to meet his friends by the staircase, he took one last look around the room, a silent laugh following behind him. Whipping around he narrowed his eyes. “Are you two playing games?”

“What?” Minho looked over at Changbin, then back at Chan. “We were waiting for you, you stopped.”

“Yeah, we haven’t said a word.” Changbin raised an eyebrow, looking up toward the staircase. “Come on, didn’t you say the view was great from up here?”

The end of the hallway flooded with light as they reached the top of the stairs. Until now, the boys hadn’t paid attention to the hallways, which were seemingly oddly defaced. The upstairs walls were stripped to their thin cardboard-like planks, which lifted at the slight breeze. These ‘walls’ were free of markings, and aside from minor erosion, one side would be deemed perfect. The rooms mimicked the walls, one side untouched, the other losing a layer of thin cardboard with a glance.

Stepping around the doorway, the boys stared at the view. Changbin took shaky steps, contemplating if the structure was safe enough to walk on. His body weight was placed into Chan’s side, the older not paying much mind. They had reached the middle of the balcony, and admired the road in front of them.

Around the house, the scene was warmer, cars flew down the highway and soft screams of enjoyment drifted from the beach. Beneath them, the subtle honks from the geese competed with each other, the tall grass crunching from under their webbed feet. From up there, they could see as far as Yeongdeok stretched, shops and homes blending together seamlessly. Aside from the house, the air felt cozier and the scenery was putting their nerves at ease. 

The three boys were too submerged into their own world, listening to the various noises that masked the eyes that watched them inside the house. Behind them heavy, urgent steps echoed up the backstairs, stopping behind the corner of the back wall.  
Feeling a gaze that burned into his back, Minho whipped around, taking a step to peer around the blocked corner.   
“Hello?” He called out, receiving no answer.

His friends watched him carefully, not sure who he was talking to.

“If you’re one of the kids from earlier, we didn’t see anything while we were looking.”

Changbin placed his hand onto Minho’s shoulder, reeling him back toward them. “Min.”

Turning back toward his friends, he watched for a second as their worried faces relaxed. “I thought someone was there, I guess I was wrong,” he let out a nervous laugh, looking back over the view. “You were right, though. The view is amazing.”  
Behind them, footsteps stopped by the opening of the hallway. 

Turning around, the three boys glanced at each other, making sure they were seeing the same thing. Though there was no one physically standing there, they felt them there. Their eyes looked into each other’s, sending a silent threat. Looking back into the house, their bodies felt heavy, their feet glued to the ground.

Changbin wanted to turn back toward the sea, to watch the small ant-like people walk around and splash in the water, to look at the scene that helped calm his nerves only a few moments before. But instead, he could feel those eyes from before, staring from inside, and they wanted them gone. 

“Hyung.” 

Chan broke his gaze from the empty doorway in front of them and looked down at the younger. 

“It’s time to leave.” His voice was quiet and heavily muffled.

“What?” 

Minho and Chan exchanged glances, watching as Changbin’s eyes didn't leave the vacant home.

“I agree,” Minho took a step forward, ready to leave. Walking through the doorway, he thought he locked eyes with someone, and when he looked away, they did not.

His two friends followed, watching as their friend tensed up and slowed down to a stop. Despite the windows being gone and each room having an adequate amount of air flow, the hallway felt thick.

The eyes watched, narrowing as the three boys stood. They needed to be gone, and they needed to be gone now.

Slowly, Minho dared to look back, only to grab Chan and Changbin’s hands and run. Whoever it was- whatever it was- did not want them there. As they reached the stairs, the three stumbled over their feet, jumping the last three steps and doing the same with the last flight of stairs. 

The footsteps followed, heavier than the ones heard earlier, trailing and closing in behind them. Losing his balance, Changbin almost tripped but grabbed onto the end of the railing and pushed his weight off it, falling close behind his friends. Grabbing a hold of him, Chan and Minho helped him the last of the way. Minho looked back once more, the darkness catching up to them, halting once they stepped from the concrete flooring onto the gravel trail.

Losing their footing they tumbled to the base of the hill, landing near the grass. Changbin looked up, and jumped back, coming face to face with a goose.

 _Honk._ It extended its wings, giving a small flap before waddling toward the back of the house.

“You okay?” Chan kneeled, looking over his friend and helping him dust off his legs and arms.

Changbin nodded, looking up at Minho.

Minho was looking into the house, watching the eyes that watched back.


	11. Chapter Eleven

“Perturbed means feeling anxiety or concern, or being unsettled. This also has a verb version which just means to make someone anxious or unsettled.” Hyunjin looked down at his phone, reading off the definition. 

The others glanced over, focusing back on their individual distractions.

“Where do you find these words?” Jisung leaned against Hyunjins side, looking at the older’s phone.

“They’re from the English dictionary,” he clicked through the app, showing Jisung the different features, stopping at the ‘word of the day.’  
Felix sat in silence while the other’s teased Hyunjin over reading a dictionary for fun. An hour earlier and the boys were rushing to pack up their items and get out of Yeongdeok as soon as possible, leaving a day earlier than expected, and now they're back to their normal playful selves. standing, he reached above and dug through his bag, taking out the Jisungs solo camera. Felix knew he couldn’t have been the only one who saw what happened, Jisung was freaked out and so wasn’t Hyunjin.

“What are you doing?” Seungmin moved to the across aisle from Felix, leaning over the armrest slightly.

“I’m going to see what it was that came at us earlier.” 

Hyunjin and Jisung stopped bickering, looking over at the two as they hunched over the smaller camera. 

“Do you think something did come at us? It could have been a piece of garbage or a leaf.” Hyunjin whispered.

Jisung scoffed. “Are you calling us scardycats? If Lix thinks he saw something then he saw something,”

“How many times have you thought a ghost came after you but it was a bird, we could all be over reacting-“

Seungmin hushed the two as they got louder, looking back down at the small camera screen.

_“Felix it’s just a spare room why does it matter?” Dried leaves and trash crunched under their feet, drowning out Felix’s response.  
“Hyun, you just said you thought someone else was in here with us,”   
Clicking his tongue his footsteps got softer as he walked away.   
Holding the camera up, a smile evident in Jusung’s voice he zoomed in on the boy. “Look at him being angy, what's wrong with Jinnie,”  
“If we left you here no one would notice because they would think you were a part of the wildlife,” Hyuinjin retorted, giving himself a proud smile.  
“Can you two please stop fighting we’re in the middle of something, you know our jobs,”  
The pair mumbled quick sorrys and Jisung focused the camera back toward the door, following behind Felix.  
Seungmin pushed the blonde back some, watching through the lense/screen as he filmed the freckled boy._

Hyunjin was hunched over as he watched the video from above. The four boys were hunched together as they relived the moment through the tiny screen.  
“It was right here,” Felix paused the video, a black shadow, peaking through the cracked door.  
“That was way before we ran, if that was what scared us then it could just be one of the gooses-“  
“Geese,” Hyunjin corrected.  
“Close enough, that was in the room.” Jisung pointed to the figure.  
“Then let's keep watching, I just know something came at us,” Felix pressed play and bit his lip.

_“Hyunjin, you should be recording this too, isn’t it your saying to record everything?” Seungmin questioned giving his friend a quick glare.  
Sighing, he mimicked the others stance, recording Felix from the other side.  
Felix inched closer to the crack, reaching to open the door wider. From what little they could see, a frayed rip hung from the ceiling and the boys peeked in as his fingers reached the edge of the door, barely missing the sudden shadow that rushed toward them. As Felix removed his hand, he pushed past Jisung and Seungmin, the camera being fumbled in the process. The others wasted no time as they followed suit, Jisung and Hyunjin tripping over their feet.  
“Fuck,” Jisung mumbled as he fell behind his friends.  
“I swear to god if you dropped the camera—“ Hyunjin started, looking back at the blonde boy.  
“I didn’t, I swear!” The camera’s footage shook harder as he waved the proof at the older.  
“Did you catch it?” Shakey trees passed by as the group ran around the back. “Did you catch that on camera?”_

The boys sat in silence, the quiet snoring of other passengers filled the void. Pausing the video Felix rewinded the footage until he reached the door.

In the doorway a blurred body silhouette stood, stopping the boys from looking further.

***

Getting off the train a silent agreement was made to stop by the store and eat before heading home. Being back in Seoul was comforting, squeezing through the crowd to get on the back road toward the convenience store. Jisung’s whines filled most of the trip, complaining that the long ride had made his snack filled tummy empty.  
The store was busy, people coming in and out, grabbing food and alcohol on their way home from work. The tables were filling up, Seungmin opting to save them one while the others collected their dinners. The typically full shelves and coolers were picked over and lacking the better of the options. Unlike their usual three and four am visits, coming into the store during the evening was more hectic than they were expecting. Jisung stuck close to Hyunjin and Felix, almost glued to their hips, as they stood in line and waited to pay. Felix gave a reassuring smile at the older, giving him a small pat on the back.

The line moved slowly, customers giving arm full of items to Woojin to scan, making small talk in the process. Once they reached the counter, they gave their friend a weak smile.

“You guys look beat,” Woojin commented. “Plus, I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow?”

“Change of plans.” Felix replied nervously, placing down their dinner of the night onto the counter.

Woojin nodded scanning the items in silence.

The microwaves were full by the time they got back to the table. Seungmin was hunched over the camera playing the scene over and over, his glasses beginning to slide down his nose. 

“Hey Ji, can you do me a favor and check the audio for this scene? See if there is anything that would point toward the geese or another animal.” He didn't look up from the screen, giving up on the door and watching the blurry footage of them running.

Nodding he dug through his backpack, taking out their EVP and his laptop.

This evening was like many before, consisting of going through potential evidence and eating dinner in the back corner of the store. Hyunjin and Felix focused on making food, rushing the microwaves as soon as one was open, hoping to get food into their stomachs. They moved like clockwork, as a microwave opened up they would replace whatever was there before with their countless containers, mumbling quick sorries. The meals were placed in the middle of the table, avoiding the equipment as the other two focused.

“How's it going?” Felix wasted no time shoving a piece of sausage into his mouth, followed by rice.

Hyunjin looked over at what Seungmin was watching, gently grabbing the camera and placing it on the other side of him. “Eat now, watch later.”

Jisung felt around the table, looking for a form of food, Felix guiding his ramen container to him. “You heard Hyunjin, Eat now, listen later.”  
Moving the headphones to around his neck Jisung looked over. “Hm?”

“Eat now, listen later.” He repeated.

For the most part they ate in silence, listening to the soft chatter of other customers and the doorbell go off each time someone came in or left. 

“I think we should set up a camera and an EVP in the room,” Hyunjin looked down at the camera which was paused on a blurry part.

Seungmin nodded, “Agreed, we should also do one in the basement,” 

“The basement?” Jisung cocked his head, looking between the three boys. “We didn’t go into a basement,”

“Shit you’re right,” Felix sat down in his empty container, running his hand over his face and thinking. “We’re going to have to break the schedule.”

“No not happening,” Hyunjin shook his head.

“Let's think about this, we didn’t go to the basement like we planned, not only that but we left a day early. There is so much more we need to do with that house it’s the only decision.” 

“Well, we can’t leave them with nothing,” Seungmin placed his glasses on the table.

“We can figure it out later,” Felix took out his phone and recorded a quick video, explaining and apologizing to their followers about not having a video out next week. He posted one to the group twitter and one on his personal, the boys doing the same on their personals as well.

“So, what does this mean? Are we the Scooby Doo gang?” Hyunjin joked, taking a sip of his banana milk.

“What are we going to do to unmask the ghost to be the old lady from the story,” Jisung grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.  
“What would her motive even be?” Seungmin looked over at Hyunjin, who thought hard about the reason.

“She wanted to buy the house so she came up with the story of a ghost who lived there haunting the place in hopes of scaring everyone away. Add in some locals for some flavor and within twenty minutes we could solve the case.” his hands moved in a twinkle effect.  
His friends laughed as Felix sighed. “I’m cutting the Netflix off, you’ve been watching too many kids shows,”

Pretending to be hurt, Hyunjin pouted. “But Barbie said I could be whatever I wanted to be,”

“I could be Barbie, but Barbie as a mermaid,” Jisung wrapped an arm around Felix “I can see it now.”

“I can too, you’ll be Ken, you both share a plastic brain cell,” Felix wiggled from his grasps, looking over as another boy came walking up.  
His face was sunburnt and his shirt was wrinkled. His dark brown hair was messy, curls sticking out in odd places. The stranger’s eyes were tired, bags resting under them as he scratched the back of his head. “Excuse me, you guys hunt ghosts right?”


	12. Chapter Twelve

The ride back into Seoul was quiet. While they ate lunch Minho tried to explain what he felt, even what he saw (if he could call it that.) Chan still tried to wrap his head around the whole situation. Was it actually a spirit or did they overreact. The group headed their separate ways after getting back to Seoul, promising to message each other once they got home.

Despite only eating a few hours before, Chan was hungry again and decided to stop by the store to get some snacks. He also figured he could talk to Woojin about it too. It was later in the evening and the rush had seemingly disappeared. A final few customers checked out and a group sat in the back corner at a table. Their loud bickering surprised the older, not sure why Woojin allowed them in the store being as loud as they were.

Chan walked up and down the aisles, eyeing the half empty shelves and settling for instant tteokbokki, honey butter chips and a green tea.  
Surprised at his purchases Woojin cocked an eyebrow. “I think we have some ramen in the back, I could always check for you,”  
Chan shook his head. “No need, it’s just something quick for when I get home,”

The older nodded. “How was your trip! Sorry I didn’t respond last night. I went straight to sleep after finishing some school work.”  
“It was eventful. I’m going to be sunburned for years,” Chan jokes, leaning his elbows on the counter. “we visited the house,” he spoke quietly, defeated.

“That sounds like fun. What was it like?” The items rested in a bag as Woojin leaned against the back counter. His arms were crossed over his chest and looked ahead.

“Minho thinks he saw something or felt something. I'm not even sure what he thought happened but it spooked Changbin out.” He sighed. “I think he just psyched himself out.”

Woojin nodded. “What did he experience?” Even he didn’t know what kind of advice to give. The most experience he’s had with ghost hunting, or ghosts for that matter, was through Felix and the boys. He wasn’t so sure he believed their stories either.

“He said that he didn't see anyone but he could feel them? Just watching us but he knew how they felt. Sounds crazy right?” Chan had slid some money across the counter before continuing. “Minho thinks they wanted us out. I think he was just trying to get us out so he can go get food. He dragged down the stairs so fast, poor Bin lost his footing; but he was really spooked out ya know?”

The older absentmindedly nodded, giving back his change. “I know someone who might be able to help you understand more if you want help on debunking feelings from ‘ghost encounters.’”

“Really? Do you have a way I’d be able to contact them?”

A yelp was heard from across the store, Chan turning to find where it came from. In the corner the loud group from earlier played around, two of them kicking each other under the table.

Woojin shook his head, a side smile resting on his lips. “They’re right over there,”

Looking back at the older he stared in disbelief. “They hunt ghosts?”

Woojin nodded, resting his hands on the counter. “Go say hi,”

Grabbing his bag from the counter he walked toward the group, uneasy of the future interaction. Stepping forward he scratched the back of his head making eye contact with a freckled faced blonde boy in the process. 

“Excuse me, you guys hunt ghosts right?” 

The horse playing had stopped and now the other three were staring back at him, confused looks plastered on their faces.  
“Why do you ask?” A dark haired boy turned in his seat, his whole body facing him. 

“I was told you guys could help,”

The four of them looked between each other, having a silent conversation. Looking back over the freckled faced boy smiled and pulled a chair from the table behind them. “Sit,”

Doing as he was told, he placed his bag in his lap, wrapping his arms around it.

“I’m Felix, this is Jisung, Hyunjin and Seungmin,” he pointed around the table. “What can we help you with?”

“I’m Chan. My friends and I went to this house that was supposed to be haunted, and while we were there my friend believes they saw or felt something.” Chan eyed the trash in the middle of the table. “We originally only went because our friend wanted to go ghost hunting. I talked my other two friends into checking the house out first, making sure it was safe and stable.” He didn’t want to disclose too much of his friends, for all he knew he couldn’t trust these people and Woojin didn’t know any better about sending him to talk with them.

“This doesn’t sound like you went with ‘friends’ this sounds like you got yourself scared,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

“I’m only doing this for my friends, I know ghosts aren’t real. I wouldn’t have gone four hours out of my way for something if it wasn’t to make my friend happy.” Chan cut his eyes at the younger.  
“Ah, so you do have friends,”

Felix shot his friend a glare, giving him a soft kick. “We have visited tons of places, does this place go by a name or common belief? We might be able to give you some tips in case the spirit there is upset.”

Thinking for a second he nodded. “I’m assuming it does? They call it the Yeongdeok house, I couldn’t find much on it so I'm assuming any stories around the house are just rumors.”

Jisung sat up from where he was slouched into the window, eyes widening as he looked between his friends and Chan. “Next to the sea, kind of dark kind of spooky?”

Chan nodded.

The silence between them was uncomfortable, neither of the boys speaking up. Chan shifted uneasily in his seat, the bag rustling from his movement.

Outside the sky began to darken as violet over took the orange and pink hues, engulfing the clouds. Faintly a star or two shined, providing the fast darkening sky with minuscule light. The moon was invisible, hiding in the depths of space, waiting for the time to begin its waxing ritual.

“Why should we help you,” Hyunjin looked over the older, unimpressed.

“Because I don't know what I’m doing and my friend over there says you guys do. Plus, I don't want my friends and I to get hurt.” Chan sighed, sending a head nod toward Woojin, who watched from behind the counter.

“So this is only for personal gain?” The younger was aggravated, while he knew that when Felix and Jisung first came to him about being their camera man he scoffed and questioned how they could believe in such silly ideals, he also grew to love ghost hunting. In the end running around abandoned places and watching his friends get spooked became one of his favorite things and this job meant the world to him, so for someone to flaunt to his group and insult their whole beliefs and work was insulting. “Do you think this is just going to fulfill whatever fantasy your so-called ‘friend’ has?”

“Is that not what you guys do it for? To gain whatever rush you're chasing?” Chan was slightly taken aback, had he not had good feelings about them he would have walked away, leaving the group and the sass their friend brought.

Jisung forced out a laugh and rolled his eyes, his tongue prodding the side of his cheek. He retreated back to the window, arms crossed at his chest.

Felix would lie if he said he wasn’t in the least bit offended, a stranger dismissing all their hard work, while asking them to help them with their own adventure. 

“We do this as a job, and it pays our pills so it's not just a ‘personal gain.’” Hyunjin spat.

“We also enjoy it, so if you’re not in it then this conversation is over,” Jisung retorted.

Realizing he struck a nerve Chan went to leave, sliding his hands from the table top and gripping the handles of his bag.  
“You say you have friends who want this?” In the corner Seungmin finally spoke.

“Yes. My friend got into watching ghost shows and Ghost Bros on YouTube. I have to admit they’re entertaining.” 

Hearing their name slip from his mouth the boys perked up.

“So they’re a fan?” Felix whispered, a smile spreading across his lips.

“Of us?” The cold hearted Jisung was gone, his leg bouncing in excitement.

“Of you?” Chan questioned.

“Hi we’re Ghost Bros Inc and we hunt ghosty doos,” Jisung extended his hand for a hand shake.

Letting out a nervous laugh Chan shook his hand, smiling with the others. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry.” 

Running his hands over his face Felix shook his head. “It’s cool bro, we’ll help.”

The atmosphere was lighter, disregarding the daggers Hyunjin shot at Chan. Chan on the other hand was relieved. He had the help of professional ghost hunters on his side for now, and they played as a good safety net.

“You say your friend felt and saw something?” Felix clasped his hand.

“I think? When we talked about him he said something was there with us, it felt like it was staring us down and telling us to leave. He couldn’t explain what exactly but he said that he thought he saw eyes, and that eyes were watching us—”

“You didn’t record?” Interjecting Hyunjin eyed Chan.

Chan’s eyebrows furrowed. “No?”

“And why not?”

“Hyun, he said he doesn’t believe.” Felix interjected the two’s squabble.

Turning to look at his friend, Hyunjin squinted. “Then why is he hunting?”

“He said it was for a friend, why are you so against us having a few more people?” Felix wasn’t sure why Hyunjin was so upset the group had mentioned before how cool it would be to have another set of hands or two around when they needed help editing or recording videos.

“It’s a liability.”


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“Channie Hyung,” Jeongin looked around the area, sticking close to his friend. “Where are we going? I thought we were meeting some friends,”

Chan chuckled as he looked down at his phone. The navigation screen was telling them to go right, toward the store, not sure if they gave him the wrong address on purpose. “I wouldn’t call them friends just yet,”

Changbin and Minho walked behind them, grumbling about being dragged on their day off to a stagers apartment. It had been a few days since Chan met Ghost Bros, at the end of their conversation and his interrogation from Hyunjin, he and Felix switched numbers, leaving on what he considered a good note. The day after Felix sent his address and told him to stop by on Wednesday with his friends and they can talk about a plan. He didn’t tell the others much about what was going on, simply that he found some people to help them out and they needed to have a meeting with all of them. Chan suggested only bringing Minho since he was the one that experienced the energy in the house, Felix shot down the suggestion saying if they were going to work together everyone in his group had to be there. Chan still wasn’t sure how he felt about the group, it would be hard working with someone like Hyunjin, Seungmin seemed alright and Jisung and Felix were unreadable. One moment Jisung is agreeing with Hyunjin and the next he’s just different.

Passing the store Chan peeked in, waving at Woojin who waved back with a smile.

“Stop flirting through the window,” Minho teased.

“You drunk flirted with someone one time—“ Chan Started being cut off with a laugh from Changbin. 

“Multiple times,” Minho and Changbin high-fived, making hushed jokes about the older.

Jeongin had stayed close to Chan’s side, nervous about meeting new people that no one really knew. He knew he was the only one who was excited for their ghost hunting trip, but he expected that. What he didn’t expect was Chan to find actual ghost hunters to help them out. Jeongin was confident in his ghost hunting skills, he practices sometimes at home, using apps and strategies he found online. He’s watched videos for years on ghosts and how to debunk a ghost encounter from everyday possibilities and science, he was sure he could lead his friends through the house with ease.

“Stop thinking so much,” Chan looked at the end of the street, looking both ways before turning left and heading the opposite way from Minho’s house. “Things will be fine, I think you’ll really like them.”

From behind the two Minho groaned. “If I knew we were going by my house I would have stayed home and not wasted the time and money going to your place,”

“‘If I knew we were,’ shut up I didn’t search where the house was before today okay.” Chan mocked the younger.

“I'm going to call your mom and tell her you’re being mean to me Channie Hyung.” The younger fake pouted.

Chan shook his head at his friend's silliness. “Can you guys not embarrass me in front of Felix and them?”

“Oh, so it’s Felix and _them,_ ” Changbin ran to catch up with his friend, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Tell me Channie, are you replacing us?”

“Right now I’m thinking about it, the only one who is safe is Innie,” Chan wiggled free from the youngers arm, walking ahead a bit before looking back down at his phone. “We take a right up the street and the building is on the right hand side,”

The joking duo dropped their smiles as they huddled close to their friend, keeping Jeongin between all of them. 

They haven't been on this side much, it wasn’t as if it was a bad area, there just wasn’t much going on around there. There was a take out place and a cafe or two on the way, but the only part that had any hustle and bustle was the station. The street they were on was littered with apartment buildings, mixing between more expensive and more run down as Chan looked at the numbers and names on the side. Finding the building the group slipped inside, giving a half bow and smile to the receptionist as they headed for the elevators. Pressing floor 8 they rode in silence, the jokes ceasing as they got closer to their destination. The boys blindly followed Chan, hoping he knew where he was going and they weren’t going to end up dead because they got sent to the wrong place. 

As they stood outside the door, Chan took a deep breath knocking. “Hey Lix it’s Chan,” he called out, earning a glare from someone leaving their apartment. 

The door opened a crack, the freckle face boy smiling as he saw his new friend and his friends. “Come in, come in!” He exclaimed, opening the door wider. “Welcome to Ghost Bros HQ! We got you guys house slippers so feel free to make yourself at home.” 

The group stepped in sheepishly saying hello’s as the rest of Ghost Bros sat on the couches and floors, giving them smiles. 

Jeongin looked over the room, excitement spreading through his body as his cheeks heated up in embarrassment. He gently slipped off his shoes, and stepped into the Muzi slippers that sat infant of him. He ran over different reasonings as to why Chan didn’t tell him who they were meeting, settling for the fact that maybe he didn’t know who they were. Jeongin only showed him one video of theirs, he didn’t expect Chan to memorize or binge their shows when he had no plans on believing in ghosts.

“Which one did you say was a fan?” Jisung leaned over and whispered as Chan took a seat next to him.

“Jeongin,” Chan called, snapping the younger out of his thoughts. “Don’t be shy, they’re really nice,”

Nodding he took a seat next to Felix, placing his hands on his thighs and rubbing them.

“You’re the one who wanted to go ghost hunting right?” Hyunjin spoke up.

“Y-yes,”

“I hope we can make this enjoyable for you,” Hyunjin smiled, tilting his head to the side.

Changbin and Minho took. And sat on the floor across from Seungmin and Hyunjin, folding their hands in their laps.

“This is Changbin and Minho,” Chan introduced them. “Minho is the the one who experienced everything,” 

Seungmin grabbed the laptop that rested against the side of the couch. Felix had them go through the footage and auto files while they prepared for Chan’s visit. According to Felix it would be wise to not look like they gathered nothing after the interrogation that Hyunjin put Chan through, and Seungmin agreed. The first thing they needed to do is figure out what exactly Minho saw and why he was as freaked out as they were. 

“We have some photos and video clips gathered from while we were there, first we need you guys to tell us if you experience the same… appeal,” Seungmin spoke carefully as he went through folder after folder to reach the one marked ‘dipshits evidence’ courtesy of Hyunjin. Pulling up the slideshow of photos and videos he placed the laptop on the table, turning it toward the three of them  
Seungmin mumbled a quick excuse me, crouching between Jeongin and Felix.

“Did you not go with them?” Jisung asked as Chan, Changbin and Minho looked over the evidence with Seungmin.

“No, Channie hyung wanted to make sure it was safe before I went with them,” Jeongin rubbed the back of his head.

“That’s smart,” Felix nodded. “It’s good to have friends who look after you and your wellbeing.” 

“Exactly!” Jisung agreed. “And look it gained you some new friends.”

Hyunjin eyed the three older boys as they intently looked over the screen. Compared to their friend, they weren’t as enthusiastic about ghost hunting, but they were respectful, at least the other two were. Hyunjin wasn’t sure how he felt about Chan yet, their first encounter being insulting, but now he was a little different, a little more willing to participate.

“You remember right Hyun?”Jisung looked over at the older.

“Hm?” Hyunjin wasn’t listening too deep in his own world.

“When you wanted to prove you could be a ghost hunter and tried to go into the haunted theme park alone but got scared.” Felix and Jisung laughed watching the others face contort.

“Don’t tell him that! Guys this isn’t your time to embarrass Hyunjin.” He pouted, throwing a fake punch at Jisung. “Why don’t you tell them about the time you almost cried because a bird flew toward you in the abandoned factory in Busan.”

“It was dark,” the younger whined.

Jeongin and Felix laughed at the two as they uncovered more and more embarrassing moments from their trips. The more they joked the more Jeongin felt welcomed and less nervous, he always knew Ghost Bros were just normal people, but it can be intimidating when they have such a mass following. 

Their game of ‘at least I didn't do blank’ was cut short when minho pointed to the screen. “There, that's what I saw.”

Turning their attention to the previously forgotten boys they waited for the explanation.

“Min, that’s just darkness there isn’t anything there.” Chan invalidated the claim pointing at the screen.

“I know what I felt and saw and that was it, it has the same feeling. The only difference is we were upstairs. This is it, this is exactly it.” Minho looked at Seungmin who nodded before turning the laptop toward the others.

“This is from the first floor,” he pointed to the side room that had minor light shining through despite there being a hole in the wall from a previous window. “This was filmed as we walked in, in the corner there is what seems to be a pit of darkness, when we pan back after running out, you can see briefly that the darkness is gone.”

Felix bit his lip and looked over the slowdown video of them running out. “That would mean whatever attacked the door was no animal and there is in fact a spirit there.” 

Hyunjin smirked and looked over at Chan who watched them discuss. “How's that for ghosts not being real?”

Ignoring his comment Felix turned toward the trio. “Who did research on the house?”

“I did,” Chan replied. “Well, Innie did a portion of it when he found it, but I searched how to get there.”

Thinking he looked between the bodies and nodded coming up with a plan. “Next week we go back to the house. Some time this week Chan and I will meet up and do a collective search on stories and see if we can get any more information on what the taxi driver said. Thursday or Friday of next week we go back, search the house and catch footage. I'm estimating a week-long stay if we want to do this correctly.”

Changbin raised his hand, not wanting to fully interrupt the younger's speech. “I have work, I don't think I’ll be able to get a whole week off.”

“They don't even have the time to go ghost hunting. What were they expecting? Going for a night and leaving the next day?” Clicking his tongue Hyunjin shook his head. “Lix you can’t be serious in working with them,”

Jeongin bit his lip, though the attack wasn’t directed at him, it was still his friends. “We can make it work,”

Looking over Hyunjin almost forgot he was there, sitting quietly while others talked, giving little input here and there. 

“We’ll make it work trust me. Right hyung?” He looked over at Changbin, the sunburn in his cheeks had faded, but even then nothing could hide the soft blush that creeped upon his cheeks.

“I can try and I’ll let Channie know what my boss says,” He sheepishly bowed his head.

“We still don’t know what upsets this spirit so we must be careful.” Seungmin had scooted next to Changbin and the couch, allowing Felix and Jeongin to have their leg space back.

Felix racked his brain of each strategy they’ve used before, finding the best way to compliment eight boys instead of their usual four. “What if we go in pairs. Assuming Changbin can get off that week, we will have even teams, we split up and search the house one team at a time,”  
“This sounds an awful lot like the Scooby Doo gang,” Hyunjin commented, hoping to get his friend to dismiss the idea. “Plus it sounds dangerous, what if someone gets hurt because they're paired with someone inexperienced.”

“We’ve been doing this for how long? If one of us gets hurt because of someone ‘inexperienced’, then it's our fault and not theirs. We know better.”

“Felix is right. Besides, it’ll be easier in smaller groups, easier to manage. This way we can hopefully not anger the spirit more.” Agreeing with the older, seungmin nodded.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_Looking around the house Felix cursed himself for losing Jeongin in such a small area. It was dark outside and the moon was half full, providing little light as he navigated the thin hallways. Though only being there once the house seemed bigger this time, more hallways than he remembered and the geese were nowhere to be heard._

_“Jeongin,” He called out, receiving no response. He let out a broken sigh as he shined his flashlight around where he was at._

_The walls were different and the graffiti seemed to disappear, assuming locals had come by to rid the house of the previously explicit drawings. Something felt off, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. He backtracked his steps, remembering what he told the youngest as they entered. Specifically remembering he told him to stay close, their chances of getting lost slim but not impossible. After they entered he asked him how he was enjoying it so far, walking from room to room shining their lights in as the camera recorded. Felix knew Hyunjin was going to give him shit for turning the camera off, but in a time like this finding Jeongin was his number one priority._

_“Jeongin.” He called again, this time louder, hoping that maybe this was just some kind of joke. “Please if you’re playing a joke just come out it was funny at first but I’m starting to get worried.”_

_Though only meeting Chan a week before he gained respect for the older, knowing that if he had to go back to the hotel without his friend he wouldn’t be able to face him. Hearing footsteps from behind him he let out a sigh, knowing that the younger was too kind to keep the joke up for long. Turning around his flashlight shined only to be met with darkness._

_“J-jeongin?” His voice was small, barely above a whisper. “Innie?” Not gaining a response he swallowed hard, opting to take a step forward._

_As Felix’s feet trudged forward, so did the hidden person. The darkness didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel as if Jeongin had misplaced his flashlight and was too scared to say it was him. It was cold and threatening, inching closer as it engulfed the light, taking every surface into the dark abyss it carried. Turning to run he fell, flashlight dropping and rolling to face back behind him. As he reached for the light he felt something grab his ankle. It was cold and patchy, as if there was a layer of skin missing. Looking down he watched as the darkness began to devour his leg, fighting its way up to his hip._

Jolting awake Felix looked around at his friends as most of them were asleep.

Chan gave a small wave noticing the other disheveled look as he woke up from his nap. Changbin nuzzled into the older’s shoulder, recrossing his arms as a huff left his lips. “You okay?”

Felix nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Just a silly nightmare,” He assured his friend, looking down at his phone. 

“Do you get nightmares often?”

Looking back over the aisle at the older Felix shook his head. “Not any that freak me out, I’ll get the occasional ones where I’m being chased or someone is trying to murder me ya know?”

“Oh no Jason is coming after you Felix run!” Chan pointed outside the window as trees blurred past.

The younger laughed, shaking his head. “Ha ha very funny. What about you? You don’t look like you sleep much,”

Smirking Chan shifted in his seat, earning a groan from Changbin. “I just can’t sleep, between school and work I get too stressed sometimes and have difficulties sleeping is all.”

“Sleep is important.” While Felix was trying to give encouraging words he knew he didn’t sleep much as well. Countless times Seungmin would force the other to save what he was editing and go to bed, taking the laptop from his hands and doing it himself. Seungmin has forcibly tucked Felix into bed, stuffing the blankets into his sides and making him into a cocoon. “Seungmin puts me to bed when I won’t sleep. At one point he resorted to reading a chapter out of his biology textbook to get me asleep.”

“That's better than Changbin, he resulted to rapping me to sleep, you don't know desperate until he starts rap counting sheep.” Chan looked down at his sleeping friend.

“Jisung sings nursery rhymes when he gets too tired. Maybe the two of them will become good friends.”

The two laughed at their friends' silliness, sitting in a comfortable silence.

“Thanks again,” Chan looked out his window watching utility poles and spare trees fly past. “I was really worried after the whole Minho thing, I didn’t want Jeongin to be around something too dangerous. I know he should be old enough to take care of himself, but he’s my friend, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I let him get hurt because I did something stupid. Thanks for helping.”

Felix smiled to himself, not knowing what to say back and opting for not saying anything.

***

Getting everyone off the train with all of their belongings was harder than the group would like to admit. Hyunjin was coming for Chan, making sure he didn't forget a single one of his assigned bags, forcing him to triple check every inch of the small overhead storage container. Jisung and Minho were still asleep, just barely managing to pull themselves off the train, leaning onto each other for support as they attempted to sleep walk. Jeongin was wide eyed and bushy tailed, swaying on his feet as he waited patiently for everyone to be ready.

“I’m sorry it usually doesn’t take this long to get going,” Felix stood next to Jeongin watching the madness unfold.

“It's okay!” The younger reassured him. “When we go on trips for school breaks, it takes Channie hyung and Bin forever to be ready.”

Changbin groaned as he shielded his eyes from the sunlight. “Why is it so bright?”  
Once they were finally all together Seungmin looked around for the bus stop, ushering everyone over. Jeongin stuck by Felix and Seungmin’s sides knowing Chan was already busy dealing with a sleepy Changbin, while Minho and Jisung silently complained about being hungry.

The bus ride into seaside Yeongdeok wasn’t as bad as they were expecting. Jisung and Minho huddled together while Minho fought cat robots in an attempt to get his virtual cat back from an alien thief in whatever video game he was playing. Hyunjin went over precautions when being in a place they weren’t familiar with. It seemed as if he was just lecturing Chan on being safe, the older getting slightly aggravated from the bimbofication he was constantly receiving. Changbin laughed at the other’s face, poking at his cheeks while Chan huffed at Hyunjin’s speech. Hyunjin wasn’t too excited to be paired with him. As Jeongin, Felix and Seungmin watched them bicker behind them, focusing back to the hand written notes Seungmin had done the night before.

“So, today we’re all going in to check out the house and the basement. Starting tomorrow we’re going in pairs a few hours at a time. Felix and Changbin are going in first, then that evening Minho and Jisung are going in. The next day our favorite lovebirds Hyunjin and Chan are going in the morning and lastly it's just us two Jeongin.” Seungmin looked over the page, reading off the detailed plan he and Felix came up with. “We would send your friends in together but after consideration we noted how important it is that one person with experience goes in with the other.”

Jeongin nodded, eyeing the notebook carefully. “Is this where you write all your plans?”   
“Kind of, it’s filled with research notes and any precautions we must take.” Seungmin handed the book over the seat to the younger. “Take a look”

Flipping through the pages, he watched messy writing scrawled over the lined pages flash past as he ran his thumb over the side. The notebook was a muted navy blue, dawning a Boss cover with the words ‘superrrrr nice.’ The cover was slightly beaten up, the Boss shark was scratched and the spine had dents. The back of the cover had an information sticker, if lost return to Felix with his phone number and address Around the edges, pieces of bent sticky notes stuck out, mini characters on some of them. Looking through the pages, notes from their previous trip to the psychiatric hospital were sprawled along them. Some pages had extra sticky notes and little doodles of his friends, finding more and more ways to pack information into the small notebook. While he knew there were things that went on behind the scenes, Jeongin hadn’t realized just how much effort they really put into researching each place. The younger frowned reading over detailed notes of which exits were blocked off and where would be the easiest way to get in and out; escape routes were outlined as a poorly drawn map decorated one page. “You guys work hard, I feel bad. It must be insulting for someone like me to go ghost hunting just for the fun of it,” Jeongin handed the notebook back to Seungmin.

“Nonsense, when I first started I did it just for the fun; I also got hurt running from a stray cat.” Felix brushed off his claims. “When I convinced Jisung to help we had a poorly drawn out plan and we almost got stuck on the top level of a factory. Everyone has to start somewhere and this is your start.”

“When I agreed to help the two idiots record I was doing the research for these places, I wanted to make sure the equipment was safe and more importantly we would be safe. Lix took over because he didn't want me to be doing too much and that's why we have countless notebooks filled with research notes and plans.” 

“You’ll get to the point where you’re no longer a newbie don’t worry Jeongin!” Felix patted his back and gave him a soft smile.

***

Getting to the hotel was just as hard as they expected. Seungmin and Felix rode in different taxi’s allowing at least one responsible person in the car with the other three boys. Pulling into the long drive way Jeongin clung to the window, eyeing the house as they passed. He saw what Chan and Felix mentioned and how the house was in better shape than photos lead. There were signs of slight decay as trimming exposed divots where pieces fell off. As they exited, the taxi drivers gave them an odd look, giving silent warnings and pleas about the house next door. The hostel owner didn’t seem to mind the visitors, giving the boys extra blankets and towels and telling them if they need him he’s one apartment over.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Jisung plopped down on the couch. “Can we go get snacks, I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Hyunjin pushed the other over lightly, sinking into the soft cushion.

It wasn’t long after that the two started working and setting up a small area for their computers and equipment. Felix and Seungmin unpacked their clothing bags and got to work setting up dressers and closets. Chan and his friends stood in silence not knowing what they're supposed to do, if anything. 

“If you’re wanting snacks please don’t go to the one before.” Felix called from the other room, earning a laugh from both Hyunjin and Jisung.

“What are you scared of? You think the old lady is going to hit you with her cane?” The pair high-fived as Felix stuck his head around the corner and gave them death glares.

Eyeing their new additions Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Don’t stand there, unpack your clothes and start packing your house bag. You heard Felix before we left, we’re taking a group trip this afternoon.”

Huffing at his demands Chan began to slide his two bags off his shoulders, unpacking his clothes and neatly folding them on the floor next to him. He tried his best to ignore the glares he got, reminding himself that this was all for Jeongin’s benefit. Once he unpacked his clothes, he placed the empty bag next to them. Moving to the next bag he dumped the contents out, watching as different items he brought with them last time dropped onto the floor. Opening the front pocket he took out the now squished box of minion bandaids.

Hyunjin was checking the camera’s, making sure they turned on and had a decent amount of battery before filming his friend next to him. Scenes like these were vital for their videos, Seungmin saying it’ll make the viewers feel more connected to them as people. Panning around as Chan unpacked his items he stifled a laugh, zooming in on the bandaid box. “What are those for?”

Looking up Chan followed his gaze to the squished box, shaking it in his hands. “In case the impossible happens.”

As Hyunjin opened his mouth to give a snarky comment Felix walked around the corner, placing his hands on his hips. It was hot in the room, making him open windows as they focused on putting clothes away. Stepping past the older he walked to the sliding door, opening it and allowing what little breeze there was to flow in. “It’s hot,.” He complained.  
“You guys sure do work fast, do you ever take breaks?” Chan leaned back onto his hands, looking between the three.

They looked at each other, then back at him shaking their heads.

“Go to the beach? Look around town? Just relax?” It seemed odd to him that they never took the time to just breathe and not focus on strictly ghost hunting while they were out, especially in a place like this. “I’m just saying that maybe it’s best if you guys were to relax while you’re out here too.”

“Are you trying to tell us how to do our jobs?” Hyunjin questioned, actually confused at what he meant.

“No, no, I just mean like do you guys ever take a step away from this and live more domestically.”

“We get dinner and we’ll walk around, but we usually stick to this, it gives us better and faster results,” Felix sat next to the older, leaning against the wall. “After we check out the house as a group we’ll go get lunch and go on a snack run for squirrel boy over there.”

“I would take offense but at least it’s a cute animal.” Jisung pouted.

Hyunjin snickered. “It’s a glorified rat.”


	15. Chapter Fourteen and a Half

Following the boys around the back Chan got chills thinking of his previous trip. The house felt different, it didn’t have the beckoning call that it did before and it seemed less dangerous. While graffiti still mitered the outside and more trash had filled the side entrances, the geese continued to lurk around.

Standing in the front the boys huddled around Felix who looked down at a piece of paper in his hands. “We’re breaking up into our pairs. Jeongin and Seungmin, Minho and Jisung, I’m going with Changbin and Chan, you’re with Hyunjin. No fighting, no playing around got that?”

Everyone nodded, standing next to their partner as he read off the list of rooms. 

“Two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs, the middle room that causes everyone the most trouble and the downstairs front room, all of these are where we will most likely catch any activity. We didn’t go to the basement last time and as it sounds neither did Chan’s group, while down there use precautions and for the love of god do. not. Touch. Anything.” It seemed like simple rules, don’t touch things or purposefully disrupt peace, but Felix knew how Jisung was and when he’s only been with half the group for roughly a week, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to go about this. Up until now he was prepared for anything that could happen due to a mistake or mess up with his friends. Many trips had taken a turn for the worst just because jisung got curious and started touching things he wasn’t supposed to. With four extra people added to the roster, there was no telling what could happen, he just knew in the end he had to keep everyone safe.

“There is one camera per partnership and as of right now it may only be controlled by someone in Ghost Bros. I know it’s not fun to sit and watch while being what seems to be a guinea pig but for the safety of the camera’s it has to be done.” Seungmin was the first to break away from the circle, turning toward the house. “If something happens we meet back here in the downstairs hallway. Due to how little space we may flood into the side room, but do not, I repeat, do not leave your partner and do not leave the parameter understood?”

“Got it.” They all responded.

“Code word is what?” Jisung asked, take a step back.

“Kimchi” Everyone called back, ignoring the pout that formed, and walking into the house.  
“What happened to ‘Jisung is the greatest’?”

“It would be a lie,” Hyunjin called back.

Minho took a step forward, throwing an arm around the younger’s shoulder, walking into the house. “I think you're the greatest.”

Leaning into his touch they stumbled over each other's feet.

“You’re supposed to be recording Jisung,” Hyunjin yelled from the top porch.

The younger stuck his tongue out wiggling free from Minho’s arm. There wasn’t much that needed to be covered, with such a big group this trip would take no time.

Minho was still apprehensive about going in, not sure how he was going to be able to get everyone out the same way he did last time, assuming something were to happen. The house seemed brighter, no area was darker than a normal shadow, and despite the previous incident he felt safe going in now. The ground had newer, fresher, offerings and multiple broken soju bottles littered the spare room. Taking a step into the downstairs bathroom, he peaked in, soaking in the damaged tile. On the outside it seemed as if it was just an abandoned house, nothing left but old furniture and evidence of homeless people sleeping in the rooms. The inside was destroyed, the ground was covered in leaves and goose poop, trash was thrown about, leaving a slightly foul smelling odor throughout the house, graffiti covered walls and dirt clung to every surface. There was once a family who lived here and built part of their lives, and now it was an empty shell. He looked through the dusty mirror, leaning toward it to wipe away the layer.

“Minho,” Jisung walked in behind him, stopping the older in his tracks. “We’re going to go down into the basement with Hyunjin and Chan, come on.” He nodded toward the opposite direction, minho following behind. They met the other pair at the bottom of the stairs.   
As expected the basement was dark, no way light could penetrate the abyss that seemed to suck the group in. Shining their flashlights, more offerings and trash were piled down there. A mattress was propped against the side wall, and a type of shrine was in the middle. The basement itself was quite small, the four of them just barely being able to fit comfortably. The smell was the worst down there than on the higher levels, the smell of urine and old food made the boys scrunch up their noses.

“We really weren’t missing anything by not coming down here the first time.” Jisung plugged his nose.

“What a bust,” Hyunjin agreed, turning to escape to the upper floor. 

The group walked up the back up the stairs, greeted by Jeongin’s laugh. Felix, Seungmin, Changbin and Jeongin were standing in the side room, laughing about how the four of them would probably come up screaming the code word due to Hyunjin strangling Chan.

“Hyunjin’s probably down there like _‘pabo, pabo,’_ and poor Chan is like ‘h…elp m…e,’”   
Changbin and Jeongin played out the scenario, unbeknownst to them the others were watching.

“Hyunjin, please what did I do,” 

_“Pabo!”_

Looking over from their escalades Jeongin stopped laughing, tapping Changbins hand softly.

Looking over Changbin blushed, unwrapping his light grip from Jeongin’s neck.

“So I’m stupid huh?” Chan looked over at Hyunjin with a side smile.

“You said it, not me.”


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_Stepping off the last step Felix looked around the basement, using his flashlight to give him what little light he could. He knew he shouldn’t have been back at the house, it was dark and the rest of the boys were sleeping back at the hotel. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off from their earlier visit. The house was hiding something, he knew what he saw before versus what he felt earlier and it was far too different for only being a week since they were there. Just as before his flashlight began to act up, flickering as he got deeper into the room, watching his step as to not step on or knock over any offerings. Sighing and tapping the bottom of it watching as the light completely turned off.  
“I just changed the batteries.” he groaned, patting his pockets for his phone. “Just great.”  
He knew he couldn’t continue in a room he couldn’t see in. Carefully turning around he held his hand out feeling around the air for the wall in order to guide him back up. Felix took slow steps, being careful not to flail too harshly, breaking a finger due to slamming it into a wall was not on his todo list.  
Feeling his hand touch something Felix pulled back, slowly touching it again. It was soft and delicate, almost as if it was another person. The surface was cold and while he couldn’t see what it was, he knew it had to be a person. “Who’s there?”  
Not getting an answer he pushed against the person, aggravated at the lack of communication.  
“If you were going down here, where is your flashlight? Whoever you are, you're being very dangerous.” He pushed past the person, feeling around until he felt the railing. Pushing himself up the stairs.  
Felix was making slow progress, not being able to see was making the trip back up longer than he wanted. Hearing footsteps behind him he scoffed. “Why are you following me?”   
Receiving the answer now, he decided to continue up the stairs, leaving the person behind him, or so he thought. Taking one more step, he bumped into them.  
Moving away from the railing, he went to shove the person out of the way only to feel hands push against his chest, causing him to fall backward. Looking up he watched as the darkness seemed to get farther away._

“Felix!” Changbin shook the younger, it was getting later and they were supposed to leave an hour ago. 

Everyone allowed Felix to sleep in this one time, seeing how he was up late the night before going over research with Chan and conspiring about if they could have been wrong about previous conclusions. Chan was asleep in the living room, falling asleep earlier that morning while looking through the videos taken the other day.

“Felix?” Seungmin walked into the room, watching as his friend rolled onto his back, sweat beading his forehead.

The two sat in silence as they watched him sleep, frustration apparent as his eyebrows furrowed. At his sides his hands gripped the sheets, followed by a stream of incoherent mumbles.

Opening his eyes a faint “no” slipped from Felix’s lips. Looking over he sat up giving himself a pitiful chuckle. “Did I oversleep?”

Changbin and Seungmin nodded, eyeing the boy slightly as he rubbed his eyes. “Lix, if need be we can have Minho and Jisung go first,” Changbin assured him.

Seungmin sat at the end of the bed nodding. “I agree,”

Waving off their concerns he scooted to the edge, sliding his feet into his slippers. “It’s fine it was just a nightmare nothing serious.”

Seungmin and Changbin glanced at each other, letting the boy pass by them and to the bathroom.  
Felix stared at himself in the mirror, splashing cold water on his face trying to piece together both of his dreams. Was it possible that he was scared of the house? Impossible, he shook his head of the idea, reminding himself that he’s visited places that freaked him out more than some beach side house on a hill. Still the dreams felt too real, he was able to feel a person, their body temperature, the feeling of being watched. They were right in front of him and they pushed him down a flight of stairs. Whoever was connected to the house hid themselves well, and he was determined to unmask the darkness.

Felix brushed his teeth before giving himself a quick pep talk in the mirror and leaving to change.  
Changbin leaned against the living room wall, reading updates from his coworkers and the chaos that ensued with him not there. Chuckling he replied with a lowercase ‘f’ watching as incoming messages were filled with curses and threats for when he’s back in town. 

Felix stepped out, bag on his back and handed a small camera to Changbin. “I’ll show you how to use it, but are you ready?”

Nodding the pair said their goodbyes and slipped out of the door.

Walking around back Felix gave Changbin a quicken down of how to use the camera. As simple as it should be, it took Jisung a few weeks to learn how to use one properly. “Double check that it’s in focus then just kind of click this button, you should be able to see it through both the lense and through the screen. when recording there is a red dot that shows up here, I’ll be recording and so will this handy dandy GoPro, so no pressure.”

Changbin nodded, following his steps as they entered the house. There was a slight shift from yesterday, this time more playful. They went through the basement for a brief moment, Felix stopping half way down the stairs. The older had let out a groan, covering his nose with his spare hand, as he waited for the younger's light. Turning around he cocked his head to the side. “You coming Lix?”

The other nodded, carefully finishing his decline. Turning on his light he flashed around down stairs, reading the graffiti on the walls. Hyunjin was right when he said there was nothing interesting. The room smelled horrid and looked nothing like it did in his dream. Felix had been thinking about his dreams, coming to the conclusion that it was in fact the ghost attacking him each time.

Changbin had stepped deeper into the room, watching his step as he tried to record everything in sight. Flashing his light over offerings, he noticed how the ones down here were old, dirty sticking to the bottles and packages.

“Hey, Changbin.”

Turning around he was met with a smile.

“I bet you can’t make the ghost show up,” Felix held the camera up to capture his face, shining his light near the other.

Changbin scoffed and shook his head. “The ghost would have to exist in order for me to do that.”  
“Come on, the winner buys the other dinner.”

The smile on the younger’s face was too cute for Changbin to say no, he was helping his friends after all, the least he could do was play along with whatever joke the other had.

“Hey ghost!” Changbin called panning the room as he took slow and careful steps. “Show yourself.”

Felix snorted at the older’s attempt, recognizing it from multiple shows he watched as a child. When nothing happened, he took his turn. “My turn! Hey ghost, your house looks like crap.”  
Looking over Changbin stared with wide eyes, not sure where the younger kept all this confidence.  
The basement was awfully quiet, sounds of bugs stuttering across trash and leaves played silently in the background. The smell was demising the longer the pair stayed down there.

Changbin’s light began to flicker, reminding Felix of his dream that morning. watching as the light died and brightened he scoffed, annoyed with the ghost hiding from him again. “Pathetic, that’s all you got? You were quite aggressive the other day, forcing us out of your home as if you still had control.” Felix sneered, turning to leave the basement. “Come on, at this rate your light will give out and it’ll be useless to carry around.”

Following the younger back upstairs, he felt the presence of something else. Changbin gave the room one last look, catching the small movement of something in the dark.

Eyes followed as they wondered upstairs, Felix laughing about how little evidence they’ve gathered, and mocking his friend. Changbin wasn’t so sure what to believe, the light flickering meant something, maybe that he needed to change the batteries, but the movement. Was there really a ghost here? Changbin had searched the room, looking around to catch any signs of movement, any that Felix and his friends could pass off as a ghost, but there was nothing. Maybe it was his eyes playing tricks on him, the room itself was dark and as Felix turned away what little light that was left wasn’t enough for his eyes to properly focus. 

Surprised by the lack of honking, Changbin glanced around outside, looking for their bird friends.  
Standing at the top of the stairs Changbin got the feeling something was watching them. Since they left the basement he had the sense of another person, following them as they made their way to the other side of the house and to the upper floors.

“Did you hear me?” Felix was facing the older, holding his camera down to his side.  
“No, sorry,” Changbin sheepishly looked away.

“We’re going into the middle room because it’s where we saw that thing rush the door, we think we can get evidence.” Felix was walking forward, placing a hand on the door.

Following behind him Changbin rushed into the room, hopping to escape the watchful gaze. As he entered Feliz stood in the corner of the room, nodding for him to go to the opposite side, in the middle of the room he set up an EVP watching as the faint lines went from high to low.  
“This bad boy can pick up anything.” He nodded over to the device.

Changbin nodded waiting for the other to make a move, something to ask if a ghost was there, but they sat in silence. Compared to what he saw on tv and what he was used to, Ghost Bros conducted things differently. They rarely called out to ghosts and a lot of the time they played around and made jokes. Essentially, they were the group who deserved shows about them. Though he didn’t believe in ghosts, he admired their work ethic and how they enjoy their job.  
Felix gave a brief once over the room, zooming in on the frayed rope that moved gently in the wind. The room was much different from yesterday, the pair had briefly come in, looking around before leaving considering it to be a bust.

“Are you enjoying it so far?” Felix was eyeing the older as he thought. “The hunting, not really the trip.”

Changbin nodded quickly. “It’s different, I kind of enjoy it.”

Felix’s face lit up at the words. “I’m surprised, I wouldn’t expect you to.”

“I mean, ghosts, spirits, whatever you want to call them aren’t really real. Ya know? But the process is enjoyable, being around you, uh the guys, that's enjoyable too.”

Opening his mouth Felix went to say something, being cut short as the door closed.

Looking over the pair rushed to the door, trying to open it. Their attempts futile as the door stayed closed, a force locking it in its place. The boys grunted as they used their shoulders to knock the door down forcefully, only to give up.

“How are we going to get out,” Changbin looked over at Felix who was picking up the EVP.  
“The window.”

Furrowing his eyebrows he watched as the boy looked down, coming up with an escape plan.

“Excuse me."

“It was in the map I gave you guys, if something happens and you’re stuck in a top floor room, exit through the window.”

Watching as he climbed through the small opening, Changbin went after him, pulling him back by his backpack. “Let me go first, I’m something happens I could always catch you.”

Handing the camera to the younger he climbed onto the ledge and looked at his possible routes. If he went straight he could risk breaking the decaying carport cover, and falling onto piles of trash and poles. To the right he had a good clearing, nothing stood in his way, but the height.  
“Shuffle to your right and jump down, be careful.”

“Didn’t think you had the functioning brain cells in you,” Changbin quipped, leaning carefully against the house as he moved his way across the small ledge. 

“Neither did I,” Felix had climbed through the window, working his way toward the older.  
Looking down Changbin closed his eyes and mentally counted to three. Too scared to jump he looked for another way down, weighing his options. Squatting, he swung his legs over and pushed himself off the ledge. He crouched low wincing slightly at the pain, looking up at the nervous boy. The fall wasn’t bad, though his knees would be bothering him later.

Felix watched and mimicked his movements, however as he began to push himself off his hand slipped, throwing him off balance and landing on his right ankle wrong. Falling backward as he landed, Felix let out a yelp and tried to get back up. As soon as any pressure was applied to it, it shot a pain up his calf, causing him to fall back down. 

Sliding an arm around Felix’s back, Changbin helped the younger up, working their way through the thin back passage. In the distance the familiar honking of geese played as they went to see what the noise was. As the geese came around the middle entrance, so did Changbin and Felix, beginning the stare down.

Taking a step forward the first goose spread its wings.

“He’s not going to attack,” Felix winced. “Just walk forward and make some loud noises, he’ll back off. We just need to get back to the hotel.”

Nodding Changbin took a few steps forward yelling gibberish as he stepped through the gaggle. The geese watched as they made their way around the house, following as they limped.

_Honk._

Turning around Changbin glared at the bird.

_Honk._

It warned again, stretching its wings once more.

“Leave you dumb bird,” Changbin mumbled, staring their stride once again.

As he turned his back the goose took its chance, with his neck stretched forward and his wings open, he hissed, beginning his attack.

Hearing the noise Felix turned to look, patting Changbins shoulder frantically. “He’s attacking, we got to go,” He shouted.

“We can’t move too fast, it can mess up your ankle even more,”

“Then carry me, it’s not going to matter if we get eaten by a fucking goose.”

Hoisting the younger onto his back, his back he picked up a slow jog.

Felix’s legs were hooked around his waist, and his arms hung loosely around his neck. The ride wasn’t too bumpy, his ankle hurting only slightly every other jolt. Hearing the hissing get louder, the slap of webbed feet brought Felix back to the situation at hand Looking back, he cursed. “Uh… Bin I don’t want to rush you but his friends are joining can we maybe? Pick up the pace!”

“Your ankle—“ 

“I don’t care, if I die because you were running too slow and the gooses catch us, you won't have to worry about believing in ghosts because I’m going to haunt you.”

Changbin snickered at the threat, grabbing a hold of his legs and making a beeline for the hotel. Jumped down from the small ledge he mumbled a sorry.

Glancing back the geese had stopped, waddling back toward the house.

As they entered the house the boys gathered around, bombarding the younger with questions.  
“What happened?” Hyunjin asked, eyes narrowing at the older.

“Lix hyung!” Jeongin came from the other room watching as Seungmin elevated and lifted Felix’s ankle, preparing it to be iced and wrapped.

“We got locked in the middle room and had to jump down and then got chased by like five gooses,” Felix rolled his eyes, placing the backpack onto the floor next to the couch.

“Geese,” Hyunjin corrected. “This is his fault isn’t it?” He pointed to Changbin.

“Not really, just the ghost playing tricks.”

Snorting he turned toward Chan. “This is your fault.” He mumbled, stepping out of the way of his friend.

“How?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“He’s your friend and Lix got hurt because of it.”


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Looking over at the bedroom door, Jisung bit his lip. He didn’t want to agree with Hyunjin that it was Chan’s and Changbin’s fault for Felix getting hurt, but maybe he was right. While they were ammeters once theirselves, if the extra bodies hadn’t come along they wouldn’t have gotten hurt.  
“You want some?” Minho extended his hand, which held a bag of chips.

Eyeing the bag, the older jisung looked up. “You sure?”

Stifling a laugh Minho nodded. “Yeah, they’re just chips.”

Grabbing a few Jisung popped them into his mouth giving his friend a smile.

The two had been sitting in awkward silence for what seemed like hours. After Felix got back everyone seemed on edge, not sure how to handle it with one person down. Felix didn’t seem too discouraged, reminding his team that he was okay and it was just a small sprain, nothing to be worried about. It was still one less person, leaving it up to Seungmin and Hyunjin to run any errands that needed to be done, or to sub in if someone else was incapable of going. Hyunjin glared at their new group members down, not allowing an apology from Changbin nor Chan, sitting next to the only one he tolerated, Jeongin.

“Jisung, Minho,” Felix called from the bedroom. 

Getting up the pair stepped into the room, greeted by their smiling friend.

“Be careful, after this afternoon I don’t put it past the ghost to play tricks on us again,” Felix warned, wincing as he moved around in the bed. “Stay together and remember the emergency exits.”

“Right.” Jisung gave him a confirming nod, turning toward the older. “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Minho gave the two a hand smile.

Together the pair gathered their house bags and said their goodbyes.

Walking around the back Jisung handed Minho a camera. Looking over the camera he raised an eyebrow, assuming the younger just had to grab something from his bag. “I’ve been yelled at plenty of times for not doing this correctly,” Jisung shrugged.

“Oh?” Minho cocked an eyebrow.

“Just click the top button and make sure you're in focus, you can look through the lense or the screen either works. Hyun prefers if we put the camera at shoulder level but I think any angle will be fine if we get the footage.” Jisung kept his gaze ahead of him, waving his hands as he spoke.  
Nodding Minho clicked the top button watching as a small red dot came on, signaling the start of the recording. He turned it off making a mental note to turn it back on as they explored.

Looking over the pair passed through a group of geese, being wary as they pecked at the ground in search of food. Gravel crunched under their feed as they made it to the front, stopping and taking a deep breath. After earlier neither of them were sure what could happen, they needed to be careful.

Jisung focused the camera on the other as they entered the house, Minho following close behind him. The pair headed upstairs first, revisiting the middle room and the upstairs bathroom. Pushing the door open they stepped inside, leaves and trash crunched under their feet as they looked around for any reason that they door could have locked and shut on their friends. The door was easy to push, meaning the wind could have closed it without warning, the doorknob however was almost non existent, a simple twist could have moved the rusty lock.

“Hey Jisung, go to the other side and push against the door for me.” Minho turned to the other.  
Doing as he was asked, Jisung moved outside, pushing in on the door, only for it to come out from in front of him, almost making him fall. Letting out a disappointed groan jisung pouted, already bored with their task at hand. “Hey, want to play a game?”

Looking over Minho raised an eyebrow. “What kind of game?”

“Hide and seek, I’ll hide and you come find me.”

Thinking for a second Minho smirked. “You have five seconds.” Turning around, he closed his eyes beginning his count.

Checking his surroundings Jisung headed for the basement, sliding past Minho and made a beeline to the lower levels, being careful to not make too much noise going down the stairs. His flashlight bounced as he made the decline, catching his breath. Looking around the room he tiptoed past offerings and trash, crouching behind the shrine in the back corner. He faced his camera toward the stairs, awaiting the older’s presence.

Upstair Minho finished counting. “Ready or not here I come?” Turning around he found no sight of the younger, assuming he was playing a trick and left him in the house alone. Letting out a sigh he was already going to give up, finish his solo search of the house. Leaving from the middle room he took a deep breath, there were very few places for the younger to hide, and very few sanitary ones. Heading to the main floor he peaked around corners and in rooms not finding a sign of Jisung. Looking over the basement door was cracked, causing the older to roll his eyes. “If you were going to suggest the game at least be good at it.” He joked, opening the door.

Hearing the door creak open Jisung fought the urge to giggle, placing a hand over his mouth. He could hear the older’s footsteps as he walked downstairs. Jisung leaned back against the wall, getting comfortable as he waited. Feeling something crawl down his arm he jumped, looking down to wipe away whatever was on him. Ghosting over what felt like a hand, he moved back from the wall, looking for a sign of what he just touched. Feeling the touch of another person he pushed himself off the wall only to be grabbed back, an arm wrapping around his torso. Eyes widening Jisung tried to get up, hoping to escape whatever had a grasp on him. A soft feeling of a breath made the hair on the young boy's neck stand up, his only breath hitching in his throat.   
It was dark, the door giving only a small big of lighting, being devoured the deeper down Minho went. He cursed himself for not bringing a flashlight, forgetting it as he shoved chips in his mouth earlier. Jisung had to be down there, if not, he was sure he had left. He took light steps, not wanting to give himself away just yet. Remembering what Felix said earlier, he almost decided to turn back around. Pushing deeper into the darkness he let out a depleted sigh. “Jisung I know you’re down here,”

Receiving no answer he used what little natural light he had and maneuvered around the trash. He hadn’t gotten far when he heard someone coming down the steps, causing him to smile. 

“If you wanted to be it you should have said that in the first place,” Minho didn’t turn around, not wanting the younger to see how much he was enjoying their game.

Jisung on the other hand was planted in the corner, watching as the grip slipped from his body. From behind the older he could see the brief outline of someone there, holding a finger to their lips. Feeling his chest tighten he tried focusing on breathing exercises, breathing in for three seconds and exhaling for five. He was just seeing things it would be fine, all he had to do was call out to Minho.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder Minho went to turn around, only to be stopped when he went to look away. Jisung wasn’t one to show affection just to take it away soon after, he picked up on some of the Youngers tendencies, hoping it would be useful in the long run.

From behind him the person sounded like they were mumbling, incoherent words leaving their lips as they glared between the two boys. They were there, and they watched them, waiting for them to leave. The boys could feel another being, by this point they had recognized they weren’t alone.   
“J-jisung, if you're down here, come on let's go,” Minho swallowed the lump in his throat.

Taking his chance Jisung tripped over his feet, getting himself from the corner. He took the lead in going up stairs, keeping his focus ahead as Minho followed.

As they climbed the stairs Minho cut his eye to the person behind them, and this one time, they stared ahead.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Waking up was not something Chan was excited for. After the long night of Hyunjin scolding Minho over a mutual game of hide and seek, Chan would prefer to sleep for the next three years.

It didn’t seem to matter what it was; his friend could never appease Hyunjin. While Chan took part in scolding Minho for his lack of leadership, the younger would shrug it off as kissing up.

“Ji, are you okay?” Minho yawned, looking over at the younger.

Jisung nodded, sliding a gummy into his mouth. “I was just psyching myself out no big deal.”

Minho knew it was a lie, even after what happened, he wasn’t sure if he was okay himself. What touched him? Or more importantly what keeps watching them?

Felix had moved from his designated bed to the living room, walking seeming to be easier for the younger now. He leaned against Changbin as they looked over the EVP audios together. They listened back on their conversation, realizing they never turned it off after putting it in the bag. 

Muffled sounds of them jumping from the ledge and geese hissing made the hairs on Changbin's arms stand up.

Chan grabbed a bottled water from the fridge, he made his way to the bathroom, looking in the mirror. Looking back at himself was a kid who didnt know what to make of the situation. If someone would have told him that he’d be hours away from home going ghost hunting with professionals, he’d laugh and tell them they should do stand up comedy. Yet here he was in the bathroom of a hotel, looking into the mirror trying to figure out if it was all worth it. Chan didn’t think he was actually going to enjoy this, despite constant belittlement and being talked down, the experience was fun.

Hearing a groan he peeked his head out of the bathroom. “Good morning!” He greeted them.  
Hyunjin had just woken up, his hair shielding his eyes from the room around him. Leaning against Seungmin, who was making coffee he began to mumble definitions. “Concede has a few meaning,”  
“Oh really?” Seungmin entertained his friend.

“Mhm, to acknowledge as true, or it can mean to acknowledge before it is officially established.” Hyunjin rubbed his eyes, blinking as he was handed his own cup. He looked around the room taking a sip of his drink. “Where’s our stowaway?”

“In the bathroom.” Felix took his headset off, placing it onto the coffee table. “And please, don’t start any trouble today.”

“I would never, maybe tell him not to start any trouble.” The boy huffed and headed toward the room to get changed, ignoring a smiling Chan on the way.

While Hyunjin got ready Chan hung out in the living room with the others, checking his bag and making sure he packed everything. Seungmin lent him a plastic baggy to put his bandaids in since the box was destroyed. When the younger was ready he headed straight for the door, not bothering to tell Chan lets go.

When Chan caught up to him, Hyunjin handed him a camera. Looking at it he examined the camera, looking at the different options and features, feeling the weight and how heavy it was. Chan clicked the on button watching a red dot appear as well. 

Scoffing, Hyunjin rolled his eyes. So now Mr. Help us thinks he’s so cool because he knows how to work a camera? As much as Hyunjin criticized Chan and forced safety measures onto him he knew he meant well. What aggravated him was how fast the older would dismiss anything that pointed to ghosts, he undermined a lot of what his friends did. Even on this trip Hyunjin tried to find more and more ways to get the other boys to turn on him in some way but it never worked, and for good reason too. They walked around back, keeping an eye out for the geese, not wanting to relive what Felix and Changbin went through.

Avoiding the main side house, Chan and Hyunjin walked around back, looking for the back staircase. Chan held the camera close, following behind Hyunjin, watching as the younger crept up the stairs slowly. The geese were huddled in the back corner, sleeping when the pair slipped by.

The back stairwell was cement, pieces missing from some of the steps made the boys extra careful. They were surprisingly clean despite small dirt piled that stuck to the corners.

“This is where whatever Minho felt came from,” Chan whispered as they moved around the corner.  
“You don’t have to whisper you know,” Hyunjin chuckled at the older’s silliness, turning to face him as he backed onto the deck. 

Chan gave the other a soft smile, following him as they looked at the view. Even though it was just barely noon, the weather was quite cool. A subtle breeze blew past the two, causing them to breathe out relaxing sighs. 

Sliding away as the younger filmed, Chan walked the upstairs, taking a peek into the middle room. It bothered him how little of the room he’s seen in person. It looked ordinary, pieces of thin cardboard being stripped from its base, trash and leaves scattering the floor copying other rooms in the process. The frayed rope that hung from the ceiling gave him chills. Before he thought it was some kind of prank, kinds wanting to be edgy and making the house into something it’s not. After hearing about Felix and the guy's interaction with the taxi driver, he understood it better.

Leaving the room he headed down the hall and stepped into the upstairs bathroom. He watched through the lense as he got deeper into the bathroom. Grabbing his flashlight from the side pocket of his bag he turned it on, trying to see better. Little light that came through the window, bounced off the seafoam title leaving the small area tinted. Some tiles were cracked and others completely destroyed. This room was no stranger to graffiti either, fours and phallic images plaster the back wall. Chan couldn’t fathom why someone would want to destroy a property that wasn’t theirs, especially those of the dead. The bathroom was small, leaving it hard for Chan to move around comfortably, tucking the camera into his chest as he began walking back out.  
“Hey!” Hyunjin called, standing in the doorway. “Were supposed to be sticking together, do you not listen?”

Rolling his eyes, he dropped his arm, the camera falling to his side. “What’s your issue?”  
Scoffing Hyunjin looked away. “I already told you. I don’t trust you guys. You’re liabilities we can’t afford to have.”

“I’m sorry, we’re just here for the same reason as you guys!” Chan spat sarcastically.  
“You are here for fun, not for a job,” Hyunjin retorted.

“Did you get any footage in this bathroom?” The older member questioned.  
Hyunjin eyed him, shaking his head.

“Do you want to see if we can summon the spirit?” Against his better judgement, Chan knew the only way to win the other over is to try and believe, and seem motivated to do so.  
Giving a tight nod, he pushed the other back and leaned against the way. Side by side they stood in silence, camera’s facing opposite directions. It was stuffy in the small room, making the silence uncomfortable as they waited. 

Chan looked over at the mirror, watching as light bounced off and reflected back outside. While reading online he heard mirrors can be portals to the spirit world, opening the human dimension to those unknown. A dirty film covered the mirror, showing how neglected the house really was, it framed the edges leaving the middle barely untouched. The more he looked the more he felt something pull him in, looking back and having a staring contest. As the eyes watched him back he felt what Minho did the first day they were there, except he wouldn’t give up so easily.  
“This was a waste,” Hyunjin groaned.

“Shh,” Chan shushed, glaring back at the younger.

“You don’t care about ghosts, who are you to shush me!” He yelled, stopping a foot. He tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that there was a chance that Chan could actually be a good person, that maybe his gut was wrong.

“I felt something!” Chan yelled back. “Something is here right now and it’s not happy so would you stop picking on me for two freaking seconds.”

“Oh, so now you think just because I’ve called you out enough on not believing, you can fake believing for the sake of pulling one over on me?”

“Stop thinking I'm against you! I’ve been nothing but cooperative, and I’ve dealt with your constant belittling for too—“

Mid rant, something fell from behind them, diverting their attention.

Looking over near the tub, they saw a figure watching them. There wasn’t a clue to what it could be. It was bigger than a goose but not taller than either of the boys, leaving them questioning if there could have been a person there the whole time.

The figure watched as they stared, silently threatening them to make another sound. How dare these two come into _her_ house and fight, ruining what little peace she’s been able to have these past few days. Pathetic boys fighting over who believed in what and what’s real; what they should be fighting over is Pokemon cards or who gets the last cookie.

“Great, did you not check the whole bathroom either?” Hyunjin sneered.

“I did!” Chan bit back.

The younger grabbed the flash light from his hand, shining it over into the darkness. “Then who's that? How do you miss a whole body? Huh?”

When the outline disappeared he shined it again, playing peekaboo with it.

“Uh… Hyun,” Chan’s breath was shaky. He snuck a side glance at the younger, backing into him as he played around.

“Don’t call me that, and be careful what do you want?”

Ignoring his requests he continued. “Is it possible that that’s the ghost? Just throwing ideas out there, or could it be we’re just blind?”

“What should I kno—“ Watching as the figure jumped forward he hooked his arm around the older’s and ran.

On their way down the stairs Chan tripped, stepping too hard and breaking one of the floorboards. A curse slipperier from his lips as they ran around the back stopping in the back of the house to catch their breaths.

“What the fuck! What the fuck was that,” Chan screamed looking back at the house.

“How the fuck should I know?” Hyunjin ran a hand over his face, clenching his jaw. 

From the outside they could still feel the eyes, watching as they panted in fear.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Jeongin huddled around the others as they looked at the tiny camera screen. So far none of the groups had any solid evidence, videos being too blurry or the audio files not catching anything good.

“I thought I told you two to behave!” Felix yelled, looking between a pouting Hyunjin and Chan.   
“How are we supposed to work together as a team and get anything done when you two are acting like complete two year olds.”

Looking at how upset the younger way the boys mumbled apologies.

“I’m sorry Lix really I am, I should have been so mean to him.” Hyunjin’s head was bowed.

“I am too. I know it wasn’t worth blowing up about.” Chan scratched the back of his head looking away.

“To be fair Lix none of us got any good footage.” Seungmin spoke from against the wall. “Innie and I will go soon, maybe that we’ll find something.”

Felix nodded, running a hand over his face. 

Looking over at the younger Seungmin gave him a warm smile. “Ready?”

Grabbing his bag from next to him, Jeongin skipped out the door waving a goodbye to the other.  
As the door closed Felix looked over at his two friends. “Can you two please learn to get along for the next two days? I know you’re not fond of him Hyun but can you do it for me?”

Seungmin and Jeongin made their way around back, having small talk before entering the house.  
“Am I supposed to have a camera too?” Jeongin asked following as Seungmin took photos of the side room. 

“Ah, that’s right, sorry. Here, just click the top button when you want to record.” Seungmin handed the camera over, watching as the Younger's face lit up with glee.

While his friend picked and tore apart Chan, the rest of the boys really got along with everyone. Seungmin had to admit he was enjoying having another set of hands around, helping them do house sweeps and look over recordings. If it came down to it he would ask the others if they wanted to join Ghost Bros, regardless of how Hyunjin felt. Seungmin knew deep down that Hyunjin was only harsh because he was looking out for his friends, it's what anyone would do when you meet someone new. The only difference is now these strangers were kind and they were friends, and at a time like this, with Jisung having panic attacks and Lix messing up his ankle, now would be the best time to stay together and not apart . The house was different from the other’s they’ve been in, this one is physical.

Walking away from the side room Seungmin entered the bathroom, grabbing his phone to shine a little light in there. From the looks of it, it was the same as the one upstairs, dirty and covered in graffiti. 

Jeongin watched from behind him, holding the camera as still as he could. This whole week he’s been filled with joy, working so closely with the people he looked up to and going on his first ghost hunting trip, he couldn’t be happier. Seungmin was the quieter out of the group; he spent most of his time checking on everyone else and editing footage. He tried his hardest to make Jeongin feel welcomed, giving him extra snacks, checking on him during the night, little things that he doesn’t have to do. Jeongin pushed the thought of him doing this just because he was the youngest out of his mind, if he didn’t want to do it he wouldn’t. Felix was just as kind to him as Seungmin was, most of the trip he spent bundled next to them, feeling bad afterward. Wherever Felix and Seungmin was Jeongin was right next to them, learning and watching, gaining knowledge of ghost hunting in general. They spent a few hours the past few days going over different files and looking at their endless amounts of evidence. The younger was really grateful that Chan had stumbled upon them even if he didn’t say it out loud.

“What made you want to start ghost hunting.” Seungmin had turned to face the other, taking a quick photo.

“Oh! Well I always thought there was more out there, and when it came down to it, I’ve seen ghosts, or a form of one.” Jeongin sheepishly looked away. “I’ll see things move from the corner of my eye when I'm home alone, so I began searching about it.”  
“Have you tried communicating?”

Jeongin nodded as they made their way toward the basement, taking out their phone lights. “I never found anything though, it was a waste.”

“Well hopefully this trip won't be!” Seungmin chuckled.

Their trip to the basement was short, Jeongin helped with additional lighting as he took his photos. They had one more night to get good footage down there and he wasn’t going to go over bored when it was so dark.

Seungmin nodded toward the top of the stairs, beginning the climb.

One thing Jeongin noticed about him was how observant he was. With only just getting there the elder already had twenty photos taken. Earlier they went through all the photos Seungmin took, pointing out different things they saw and and the noticeably different vibes. During investigations Seungmin often looked for fine details, shadows that would have blurred together if filmed, hand prints, anything that could be used to justify a ghost. 

Walking up the stairs Jeongin watched as Seungmin took photos down the hall. The house was quiet, a soft breeze flowed through as the pair worked their way from one side to the other. The house felt heavier than when they first got there, something following them. Every so often Jeongin would turn back and look for whoever was there, only to be faced with nothing.

As they reached the patio Seungmin took a photo of the view, reviewing it before showing the younger. There were times when Seungmin only took photos for himself, giving him something to look back on for memories, or just so he can capture the beauty of life. Turning around he took a photo facing inside the house, catching Jeongin filming him from the side.

“You know, I’ve never really been filmed before.” Seungmin spoke softly.

“Really? But there’s so many compilations of you! I have a fancam of every time you turn a camera on.” Having the words slip from his mouth a blush spread across Jeongin’s cheeks.

“Well we have a bunch of behind the scenes footage and a bunch of us goofing off and our bloopers. There’s going to be a time when I’m on screen but it’s not usually like this.” He waved his arms around. “I’m glad you and your friends are here, it’s nice having a full crew and not just the four of us.”

Hearing the compliment Jeongin’s arms dropped to his side, going in to give the older a hug. “Thank you for having us.”

Seungmin gave him a light squeeze pulling to rest an arm around his shoulders. “Lets go check out the middle room.”

The door was already open, surprising the two.

“Now that I think about it, this place doesn’t really have that much of a breeze does it?” Seungmin stood in the corner taking photos from every angle.

“It really does.” Jeongin frowned. “Surprising because it's so close to the beach.” He was looking out the window, having the urge to film the back side. Below the torn apart carport covered two back areas full of trash. Old tires and used poles stuck out finding their way between couches and mattresses. The other side was a wide opening, thin branches covering part of the way, leaving the back clear. Felix told him about the escape route, how it was risky but might need to be done.  
Seungmin patted his shoulder giving him a silent cue that they were about to leave.

Instead of going the way they came the pair exited through the back, walking in silence as Seungmin went through all the photos he took, showing some to Jeongin.

As they reached the back of the hotel Jeongin gave one last look to the house before slipping through the doors.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chan managed to talk everyone into having a break day, and after what happened with Felix they needed one. The weather was looking out for them as the group walked around town, stopping at restaurants for breakfast. It had been a while since they’e seen faces that weren’t a part of their group, having bought instant ramen and snacks by the bulk, they hadn’t left the hotel in days, unless it was to search the house. Felix’s ankle was feeling better and now he was able to put minor pressure on it as opposed to hardly any at all.

“This feels so good,” Jisung stretched, watching as people passed by the window. “I don’t know how long I was going to be able to survive that place.”  
The others laughed at his dramatics.

“I’m just glad I won't be eating instant ramen for breakfast again.” Felix complained.

“I second that, I dont think I’m going to touch another thing of ramen until I’m fifty.” Hyunjin placed his head in his hand, looking over at Chan.

“Wow you’re staring at him with out glaring I’m proud.” Minho joked.

Sticking his tongue out Hyunjin crossed his arms over his chest.

Hearing the tension free banter Chan smiled.

This week has been hell for everyone. In some way they suffered their own stress, learning to work with new people while keeping up their natural routines. If it wasn’t fighting over who gets to shower first it was fighting over who ate all the honey butter chips. After Felix got hurt Chan wondered if this was really worth it, contemplating on sitting out, letting the rest of them do their things. The longer he stayed and helped out the more he began to appreciate it, appreciate the effort that went into it. Chan didn’t believe, he still thought they were going after nothing, chasing things that would lead to disappointments. Though, if Chan had to choose between being stuck with them or being at home working, he would definitely choose here.

Hearing their order number called Minho and Chan got up, bringing the trays back to the table.   
“Thank you Channie Hyunjin for the food!” Jeongin beamed.

Chan waved off the thank you. “It’s no big deal, just eat up. We have a long day .”

The others nodded shoving food into their mouths.

Late last night Chan searched up places around town to visit, going for things like restaurants, aesthetic places for Minho to take photos for his instagram feed, shopping places to get tourist-like things. It didn’t seem like much but Chan wanted today to feel like an actual vacation to the boys and not just another day at work.

As they exited the building Hyunjin placed a hand on his shoulder.

Turning around the older smiled. “Hyun,”

“Uh, thanks for breakfast. And for planning today.” Hyunjin looked away, staring at the ground.


	21. Chapter Twenty

_Waking up in the basement Felix groaned. He thought he was done with these petty nightmares. Looking around he noticed how bright it was down there. He could see the trash and offering scattered around, leaving little pathways for him to walk on. Rolling over onto his stomach he got on his knees, getting ready to get up from the ground. As his right foot came around he felt that familiar pain, making him sit back down. He bit back a whine and made a tight fist._

_“Screw you, you fucking ghost.” He yelled._

_Felix didn’t care if he made the ghost mad, what was she going to do in a dream? Kill him? After being pushed off the stairs he highly doubted he would die in any of these. It seemed like everything was repeating itself._

_Putting his foot back down he forced himself up, biting back the pain. No matter how bad it hurt he had to get out of there and he had to get out of there fast._

_Limping his way toward the stair case he eased his way up, taking it one step at a time. It took what felt like forever to reach the top, taking a break he placed his had on the doorknob. Hearing footsteps from the other side he waited for them to stop._

_Silent mumbling could be heard from the other side as Felix placed his ear against the door, trying to make out what the person was saying. He closed his eyes and focused, if he listened maybe he could find their motive._

_As he listened the door shot open, making him lose his balance. Looking up no one was there, leaving him faced with darkness as it raced toward him._

Shooting up Felix caught his breath, looking over as Seungmin slept peacefully in the next bed over.

It was another nightmare. The same thing happened starting with Felix being alone, the ghost appearing, being stuck in one place, getting eaten by a darkness; it was all an endless cycle, leaving Felix to question if it was just his imagination or the ghost actually coming after him.

Getting out of bed he limped toward the bathroom, lightly knocking when he saw the light was on.  
“One second,” Chan called back, opening the door. “Oh! Hey Lix, another nightmare?”

Nodding he slid past him and into the bathroom, keeping the door open. “I’m tired of them.” 

Turning the faucet on he splashed his face, patting it dry with one of the towels. 

Felix looked at himself in the mirror, checking out the bags under his eyes which got progressively worse as the trip went on. If it wasn’t for his lust for adventure he’d be sitting it out, sleeping in and resting his ankle. He needed to solve this and needed to get proof that there was something there, he wanted to see it with his own eyes. He scratched the back of his neck, wincing at the sudden pain.

Furrowing his eyebrows he grabbed Hyunjin’s hand mirror and positioned it at the back of his neck. “What the—“ 

At the base of his hairline a cluster of red bumps formed, leaving his skin irritated and slightly warm.

“What’s that?” Chan questioned, stepping into the bathroom to take a further look.

“I don’t know, is it some sort of rash?”

Moving the ends of Felix’s hair out the way he looked at it closer. “Looks like it,”

“Just my luck,” He mumbled.

Chan remembered the time when he woke up at 3:04 am it was late and the boys had a long day tomorrow. “Go back to bed I’ll get a cold towel for you okay?”

Looking at this older he nodded, heading back to his room.

The next morning Felix was the last to rise, being uncomfortable no matter what he did. He didn't have any more nightmares but the rash on the back of his neck was bad enough. Itching it as he walked into the main room he pouted when Chan swatted his hand away.  
“No itching!” He gave the other a light tap on the arm.

Chan had mentioned to the others how Felix might have gained some kind of heat rash from being at the beach yesterday, and that they should be careful as well.

The earlier of the day was spent planning, giving out each pair their designated rooms and escape routes. This trip was going to be a night, they needed to stay quiet, now that the mass of people would be asleep, giving them the chance to pick up any and all sounds that were authentic to the house.

As evening came around the boys showered and double checked their bags, and asked around if everyone had what they needed. They were going in to set up and clear the area. While they couldn’t do much about the geese or mass piles of trash, they needed certain areas to be clear, using them to place EVP’s and camera’s when needed.

As the night sky came out, they were not face to face with the house. Darkness watching darkness.

Hyunjin and Chan stood on opposite sides of the room watching the EVP do it’s thing. It was silent between the two of him, whatever warmth Hyunjin had toward Chan had disappeared. He wasn’t sure when cold Hyunjin came back but to say he wasn't the smallest bit sad about it would be a lie.

“Did I do something again?” Chan asked, the EVP moving up while he spoke.

“Be quiet.” Hyunjin whispered.

“Hyun—“

“I told you not to call me that.”

Outside the others explored their own rooms. The basement had an EVP down there as well, Minho opting to stay down there while Jisung took watch outside of the basement door. Seungmin and Jeongin were in the side room and the downstairs bathroom, taking turns asking questions.  
Upstairs Felix and Changbin worked their way through the bathroom and patio, setting up and EVP outside, hoping to catch something. It was late, last time Hyunjin checked it was elven on the dot.

Standing silently in a room with someone who has managed to rekindle their hatred for you was not how Chan expected this to go. It was bothering him sitting in silence, waiting for whatever ghost that was here to show up. There was only so much you could film in one room and when you can’t move around, it makes it difficult.

The stars peaked out from the window, giving Chan something to stare at, the dimly lit room becoming too much for him. 

From the other side of the room Hyunjin scoffed, rolling his eyes at the older’s lack of attention. All those other trips were just play dates, coming in finding out as much as they can about the ghost, what makes it mad, what makes it happy, seeing how they can pull them out. Tonight, this was the real deal, this was what could make or break their careers, this was not a joke.  
“Pay attention,” Hyunjin sneered, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m bored, and it’s too quiet for me I’m sorry.” Chan whispered back, taking his eyes off the sky.  
“I bet you think we enjoy sitting around hours on end, listening to nothing? It takes time for something to happen, don't be such a bitch baby!”

“You two keep it down.” Felix groaned, calling through the door.

The two mumbled sorries pouting and avoiding each other's gazes.

Chan looked over, watching Hyunjin’s face as it relaxed from the stressed state it was previously in. “I know I’ve said some things and I’ve probably hurt your feelings. I’m sorry. I’m not fit for ghost hunting so maybe I should just leave it to you guys tonight.” 

Hyunjin forced a laugh looking over at the look Chan gave him. “You think you can just abandon this once you start it? You’re staying the whole time so suck it up and watch your twinkling lights.”

Chan leaned against the wall a piece of stray cardboard fell over, swaying toward the ground. He watched as it landed lightly onto a pile of trash and leaves. The pile depleted, leaves scattering while the cardboard laid there perfectly still.

It was quiet again, nothing but the sound the geese honking and waving crashing against the shore.

Jisung took up looking at the sky searching for constellations as his friends were more active, talking to the ghost, _hopefully_ speaking with it. Every ten minutes he would make a mini vlog complaining about how boring it was to be here alone with nothing to do, Seungmin and Jeongin making jokes in the background. The past few recordings were of sky mentioning how beautiful it was.

Downstairs a muffled yell was heard from the basement, snapping Jisung out of his trance.  
_“Kimchi!” Minho screamed, pulling on the door to open. “Kimchi! Jisung is the greatest!”_

Placing his camera down and grabbing the doorknob Jisung pulled, watching as the door wouldn’t budge. “Kimchi!” He called to the others, screaming his hand slipped. “Minho’s stuck in the basement!” 

Seungmin and Jeongin were the first on sight, moving a few feet away trying to help Jisung pull open the door. When the door wouldn’t budge Seungmin looked over his shoulder. “Kimchi!”  
Minho banged on the door hoping he would be able to knock a hole in it somewhere but nothing was working. Behind him a Darkness crept up the stairs leaving him paralyzed.

Hearing the code word Felix looked at Changbin and grabbed EVP, leaning onto him for support as they made their way to the staircase.

Hyunjin looked over at Chan, then to the door. “Did you hear tha—”

Before he could finish his sentence Chan took off. It was the code word, and someone needed help.

“Be careful!” Hyunjin began to step near the older. “You’re going to get clumsy and break something slow down!” As he turned from his previous direction he fell, he tripped over his feat he fell, rolling over with a groan. 

“Hyun!” Looking between the door and Hyunjin Chan crouched. 

Yells of triumph rang from downstairs as the boys beelined for the top floor. Panting they ran into the room looking for where the noise came from. 

“Hyunjin! Are you okay?” Seungmin popped on the other side of Felix who kept his camera in hand.

Feeling under him, Hyunjin looked to see what he fell on. Pulling it out he let out a whine, his behind sensitive from the fall. In his hand laid a small black box that was now crushed. Trying his best to open it, a ring and a diamond fell into his other hand.  
As everyone gathered the basement door slammed.

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

Next door the bathroom window banged against the frame, glass breaking due to the force. The mirror made screeching noises as it sounded like someone ran a pair of keys on the surface.  
Hearing the noises Jisung crouched to the ground, placing the camera in his lap and covering his ears. He let out silent whines, trying his best to steady his breathing and reminding himself that he won't get hurt— even if he didn’t believe it.

The wind was different, whipping between the group, slapping them on the face as they tried to cover their eyes from the debris. 

_Honk._

_Honk._

_Honk._

Outside the geese wailed, their wings flapped as they began their take off, fleeing the scene.

Footsteps came up the staircase, stomping as the wooden planked creaked under their force. As the footsteps came down the fall the door behind them began to slam, shaking the fragile room with every hit. 

As the footsteps ceased so did the commotion.

Felix turned around as silenced, catching the door slowly creaked open to reveal nothing.  
Behind him the rope swayed gently, coming to a stop.

“Let’s go,” Chan said, reaching for the EVP and helping Hyunjin up.

Changbin carried Felix on his back, insisting it's so he doesn’t mess-up his ankle more, following behind Hyunjin and Chan.

Minho grabbed Jisung’s hand, telling him it was going to be alright and it was over, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. Walking him through breathing exercises on the way out.

Seungmin and Jeongin followed behind, taking one last look at the house as they existed.

Once they did their head count, they said their goodbyes.

Only this time the eyes didn’t watch back.

_“This Ghost Bros Inc.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You soooo much for reading!
> 
> please check out this artwork that was made specifically for heat rash!!
> 
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O0nZ0e7c2PdBuM991GHPr9xB5Rnh5xzv/view?usp=sharing


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